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ROGER W. BABSON 






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RELIGION AND BUSINESS 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

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MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

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BAPTIST 

Bev. H. G. Kennedy, Pastor 

Morning Service 

Sunday School 

C. E. Meeting. . . 

Union Service 

Wednesday Evening Prayer Meeting.. 

ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC 
CHURCH 

First Mass 

(Children's Mass 

Third Mass 

High Mass 

Catechism 

Stations of the Cross. 

Vespers 



10.30 

12.00 

6.00 

7.00 

7.30 



7.00 
8.00 
9.15 
10.30 
2.00 
3.00 
7.00 



METHODIST 

Rev. L. G. March, Pastor 

Morning Sermon 10.30 

Sunday School 12.00 

Epworth League 6.15 

Union Service Baptist 7.00 

Wednesday Evening Prayer Meeting.. 7.30 

EPISCOPAL 

D. R. Bailey, Rector 

Holy Communion 7.30 

Holy Eucharist, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th 

Sundays 10.30 

Morning Prayer and Litany, alternately 

at 10.30 

Evening Sermon 7.3C 



UNIVERSALIST 

Rev. Harriet B. Robinson 

Morning Service 10.30 

Sunday School 11.45 

Y. P. C. U 6.00 

Union Service Baptist. ... 7.00 



RELIGION 
AND BUSINESS 



BY V 

ROGER wfBABSON 

President oi* the Babson Statistical Organization 



[THE MACMILLAN COMPANYj 

1922 




PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



COPTRTGHT, 1920, 

By the MACMILLAN COMPANY 



Sot up and electrotyped. Published, November 1920. 



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tSANSFBB 
ih O, PUBLIC LIBJElAjafl? 

SEPT. IC, :■ 40 



FERRIS 

PRINTING COMPANY 

NEW YORK CITY 



f- 407540 

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V -I^TRICT OF COLOMBIA PBOPebt> 

:3^ TEAmPEB nfeij #-bom public LIBRA«^ 



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% DEDICATED TO 

^ MY DAUGHTER 

^ EDITH LOW BABSON 

QC 



CD 



PREFACE 

Some readers of this book may dislike the indis- 
criminate way in which the .Words ''religion/'' ''the 
Church," and "churches" are used. The result is not 
very satisfactory to the author himself, but he seems 
to be unable to improve the text by any changes. Surely 
the terms are not synonymous and should not be con- 
founded. 

The author clearly recognizes that religion is the great, 
important thing and must be something far nobler and 
more comprehensive than that which churches practise. 
He also recognizes that there is much real religion apart 
from the churches and that many lodges and other orga- 
nizations are as much dispensers of religion as are the 
churches themselves. 

The very fact that religion is so fundamental and com- 
prehensive makes it difficult to treat. Hence, the author 
refers to the churches which are concrete. Furthermore, 
the needed closer relationship between religion and busi- 
ness can surely be strengthened and developed through 
the vitalization of the churches. Therefore, although the 
end sought is to develop more religion, yet it is believed 
that this can be accomplished best by strengthening the 
churches, which were organized for that purpose. 

R. W. B. 

Wellesley Hills, Mass. 
September 1, 1920. 



RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

BY 

ROGER W. BABSON 
Published by The Macmillan Company 

CHAPTER I 
Business Men and the Chuech 3 

CHAPTER II 
Rich Men's and Pooe Men's Churches. 15 

CHAPTER III 
Religion and the Wage Woekek 26 

CHAPTER IV 
Religion and the Employee 40 

CHAPTER y 
Katural Law Undeelies Jesus' Teachings 53 

CHAPTER YI 
Training Que Children in Religion 62 

CHAPTER VII 
The Greatest op Undeveloped Resources — Faith.. 76 

CHAPTER Vin 
Religion and Peesonal Epficienct 91 

CHAPTER IX 
The Religion Which Will Finally Suevive 110 

CHAPTER X 
The Intebchurch Movement 126 



CHAPTER XI 
The Great Opportunity foe Religioit in" Industry . . 143 

CHAPTER XII 
How We All Could Have Much More Than We 
Have To-day 160 

CHAPTER XIII 
Can Religion Be Subsidized ? 176 

CHAPTER XIV 
Immediate Problems Facing the Church 189 

CHAPTER XV 
Conclusion 204 

ADDENDA 
Statistics on Religious Groups 211 



CHAPTER I 

BUSINESS MEN AND THE CHURCH 

Preachers and others connected with religious work 
should be very slow to criticize the business man. The 
very term "business man" signifies that he is a busy man. 
He is full of cares, perplexities, and doubts. Every one is 
trying to get the better of him. When he is buying his 
raw material, merchandise, or labor, he is forced to seek 
the cheapest market or else go bankrupt. When he is 
selling his raw material, merchandise, or labor, he is 
forced to seek the highest market or else go bankrupt. 
Literally, the whok world is against the modern business 
man. He is the great buffer between the producer 
and the consumer. Both are pressing him from different 
angles. The business man must necessarily become cal- 
lous, like a toe rubbing constantly on the inside of a shoe. 

The business man must by nature be suspicious. Unless 
he looks carefully into every statement, he will soon 
lose his position and property. The business man is the 
watchdog for the community. He works in behalf of the 
community and in its interests. He, therefore, must watch 
out at every turn. The law of the survival of the fittest 
reigns in business. The conflict of business competition 
is even more severe than any conflict which rages in the 
jungle. The business man must continually be on his 
guard, not only for his own existence, but in the interest 
of the community as a whole. 

The survival of the business man dependa upon effi- 



4 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

ciency. A pair of shoes which sells to the retailer for 
several dollars, carries a profit of only a few cents a 
pair to the manufacturer. Althoug-h the profits in the 
steel industry, the beef industry, and the textile industry 
are very large in the aggregate, yet the percentage of 
profits to the total volume of business is very small. A 
difference of only two or three per cent, in the efficiency 
of the plant, or an error of two or three per cent, in the 
cost of raw material or in the selling price of the goods, 
may change success into failure. Hence the business man 
is forced to be efficient and is brought up to lodk askance 
at any group or industry which is inefficiently operated. 

INEFFICIENCY OF THE CHURCH 

It therefore is only natural that the church does not 
appeal to the business man as many of us might wish. 
The church represents the greatest industry in the world. 
It is the oldest; from it came education, medicine, art, 
agriculture, and most of the sciences. Modern civilization 
in all its branches owes its conception to the church and 
most of its industries were founded originally within the 
walls of some monastery. 

Even after the Protestant branch split from the Catho^ 
lie, this same thing continued true. The greatest educa- 
tional institutions of to-day were started by the church. 
The great hospitals of our large cities are offshoots of 
the work of the church, and this, in a general way, applies 
to nearly all other good movements. The foundation of 
our own nation was directly due to the desire of the 
Pilgrim Fathers to worship God in their own way. Fur- 
thermore, nations which were based on other foundations 
or founded for other purposes have amounted to but 



BUSINESS MEN AND THE CHURCH 5 

little. The spread of civilization over Europe, the growth 
of this nation, — ^indeed, the spread of civilization 
throughout the world, — are all due to the missionary 
spirit of the church, first started by the early Christians 
from Rome, then carried to America by the Pilgrim 
Fathers, then spread westward over the American con-, 
tinent, and finally over Asia and Africa. 

Furthermore, it is fair to say that the church repre- 
sents the greatest industry in the world to-day, as well 
as the oldest. It is estimated that there are invested in 
church property at the present time about 1800 millions 
of dollars; that there are about 200,000 paid preach- 
ers and about 500,000 lay workers. General statistics 
on church membership are given in another section of 
this book. Here it is desired only to emphasize the 
greatness of the industry ; and these figures do not include 
its many ramifications, which, if considered, would double 
or treble the amounts and numbers involved. 

Yet from the business man's point of view this industry 
is the most inefficiently operated of any industry in the 
world. The great Protestant churches are open only a 
few days a week. None of their property is being utilized 
to 10 per cent, of its utility. The methods of work are 
slack and unbusinesslike. The Sunday school, which 
should be the great training ground for the church, is 
most inefficiently operated. Religious education is twenty- 
five or fifty years behind other education. The majority 
of the teachers are untrained, many of them are altogether 
too young, and little system reigns in connection with 
the work. The business man cannot understand how we 
churchmen can believe that religion is the most important 
thing in the world and yet give less time to our children's 
religious education than we give to teaching them dancing 



O RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

and foreign languages. All this seems inconsistent to the 
average business man. He knows that no factory or other 
industry could survive if operated only a few hours a 
week or if carried on in such a slipshod and indifferent 
way. 

The very fact, however, that the church has survived 
all these centuries, notwithstanding its severe persecution 
during one period and its shameful inefficiency at another, 
shows that religion is a most vital thing and cannot be 
killed. Although I agree with business men when they 
criticize the church, the Sunday schools, and the various 
other allied movements, I always ask this question : 

"Do not these very facts demonstrate that the church 
has hold of something very much more important than 
appears on the surface? If the church survives and pros- 
pers under conditions which would kill any other institu- 
tion or industry, isn't this of itself proof that it has some- 
thing worth while t* 



DENOMINATIONAL FIGHTS 

In another section of this book the question of denomi- 
nations is freely discussed. It is believed that there is a 
field for various denominations, and that, if all denomina- 
tions were exterminated to-day, it would be only a short 
time before the same great branches of the church would 
reappear. So long as people have different dispositions, 
there must be different denominations. So' long as people 
have different tastes for food, color, music, and literature, 
so long may there continue to be different branches of 
the church. 

There are business men who talk about a union church 
and scoff at the idea of having different denominations. 



BUSINESS MEN AND THE CHURCH 7 

Business men, however, who carefully look into the mat- 
ter agree that different denominations are not only advisa- 
ble but necessary. Hence, very few business men who 
have studied the subject criticize the various principles 
underlying the different branches of the church. 

[Business men, however, are disgusted at the petty fac- 
tions which exist in the average community. With one 
God and Master, it is inconceivable to the average busi- 
ness man how the different denominations can so fight 
among themselves. We all came from the same God, we 
all have to report to the same God, and yet we act as if 
we each had different Gods. We are apparently not only 
content to have different Gods but we want to build a 
fence around our own God and bring everybody else 
inside this particular enclosure. 

Although the church represents the greatest industry 
in the world, it knows little more about God and His ideas 
than it knew thousands of years ago. We know there is 
a God; we know there is power in prayer; we know some* 
thing about faith, love, and other attributes of religion; 
but we know little more about them than was known cen- 
turies ago. At least, this is the way the average business 
man looks at the subject; and yet there are people who 
claim that they know just what God is, just what God 
knows, and just what God wants. They truly act as if 
they had some inside information about God, His plans 
and hopes, which no one else possessed. Of course such 
people are very much mistaken, whether Catholics or 
Protestants, Baptists or Unitarians. We know no more 
about God than our ancestors did, and they knew nothing 

ff, however, we were content to think that we had this 
inside information about God and were then content to 



8 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

keep it to ourselves, it would not be so bad. But we are 
not so content ; we want to press our ideas on others ; to 
make every one believe as we believe and to make others 
see things as we see them. We spend little time in creating 
new souls, but devote our energies to scrambling over the 
souls already existing. The Catholics want them in their 
fold; the Protestants want them in their fold, and the 
various branches of the Protestant Church want them in 
their respective folds. 

These denominational fights of preachers and church 
people among themselves regarding creeds, customs, etc., 
are very repugnant to the business man. He considers it 
bad enough for us church people to pretend that we our- 
selves know what God is, and what are His plans; but 
for us to try to force on others these things about which 
we know nothing is absolutely incomprehensible to the 
average business man. 

The business man has learned that we are in a world 
of constant change and that life is a process rather than 
a problem. The business man believes that what is right 
or wrong has been, is, and always will be the eternal 
question of the ages. The business man believes in relig- 
ion; he hungers and prays for religion. He is greatly 
interested in the church as an institution which will make 
him a more truly religious man. Business men, however, 
are not interested in theology or denominational fights. 

CHURCH CUSTOMS 

The inconsistency of us church people in connectioo 
with the teachings of Jesus is incomprehensible to many 
business men. For instance, Jesus preached a famous 
sermon on a mountain. In this "Sermon on the Mount" 
He stated many great fundamental truths* These truths 



BUSINESS MEN AND THE CHURCH 9 

were based on the soundest physiological and psycho- 
logical principles. Some of these principles we will dis- 
cuss in a later chapter. In this sermon, He gave various 
commands such as the following: 

"Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and 
a tooth for a tooth; but I say unto you, Resist not him 
that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right 
cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man would 
go to law with thee and take away thy coat, let him have 
thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go 
one mile, go with him two.'* 

"Ye have heard that it w^as said. Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor and hate thy enemy; but I say unto you, Love 
your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you." 

"Judge not that ye be not judged. For with what judg- 
ment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what meas- 
ure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you." 

"Be not therefore anxious, saying What shall we eat? 
or. What shall we drink? or, Wherewith shall we be 
clothed? . . . But seek ye first His kingdom, and His 
righteousness; and these things shall be added unto you." 

It may be impossible to carry out some of these com- 
mands in the civilization that exists to-day. I do not admit 
this, but will grant it for the sake of argument. One 
command, however, "Judge not that ye be not judged," 
can still be obeyed without harm to any one and with! 
great benefit to all. Jesus knew that gossip, unjust critl- 
cism, misunderstanding, and the like are at the root of 
most trouble. He knew that we can hurt one another hy 
our tongues infinitely more than by physical violence. 
Therefore, Jesus laid great stress on the importance of 
trusting others, the importance of not judging others, 
and the importance of consideration for others. 

This command of Jesus is given very little attention 



10 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

by the church. In the average community there is more 
gossip and local strife among church people than in any 
other group. The women's societies of the churches have 
the name of being hot beds for judging and gossiping 
about others. Apparently these great commands of Jesus 
are forgotten or laid aside as impractical. 

But at another time, Jesus held a supper. It was the last 
supper before His death. At this supper, He suggested to 
His disciples that once in a while they get together in the 
same way, and hold such a supper in remembrance of 
Him. This custom has continued through the centuries 
and forms a very important part of the services of nearly 
all churches. The celebration of the Lord's Supper is 
looked upon by nearly all church people with great rever- 
ence because Jesus said: ''This do in remembrance of 
Me." 

Business men looking on at the church from the out- 
side do not object to the celebration of the Lord's Sup- 
per by the church people, with such solemnity and regu- 
larity. The business man does not criticize the preacher 
or the members of the church for showing such great 
earnestness in the exact observance of this custom. The 
business man, however, cannot understand why we church 
people so carefully remember and obey this one sugges- 
tion of Jesus and treat so lightly His other demands and 
j requests. 

All the denominations are more or less keen on the 
question of baptism. One of the great denominations 
makes baptism almost its corner stone and goes so far 
as to believe that unless a person is wholly immersed he 
is not baptized. It may be the duty of us all to be baptized. 
It may be that the only form of baptism which is effectual 
is total immersion. The business man does not object to 



BUSINESS MEN AND THE CHURCH 11 

groups of people believing in the importance of such 
forms. He, however, cannot comprehend why it is that 
people can be so particular about the observance of some 
such form and then utterly neglect the great fundamental 
principles of justice, generosity, and service which Jesus 
taught. The business man looks upon us church people 
the same as Jesus looked upon the Scribes and Pharisees, 
when He said: 

* Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for 
ye tithe mint and anise and cummin and have left undone 
the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and 
faith; but these ye ought to have done, and not to have 
left the other undone." 

Another illustration is in the use of blasphemy. I do 
not swear and I do not want men wdth me who are ac- 
customed to swear. There is no defense of the use of 
swear words. The facts of the case are, however, that a 
church man could gossip about his neighbors and get 
away with it; he could cheat his fellow man and get away 
with it; he could divorce his wife and get away with it; 
he could refuse to negotiate with his workers and get 
away with it; he could gamble in stocks and commodities 
and get away w^ith it; he could do a score of other things 
infinitely worse than swearing and still retain his position 
as a church member. If, however, he picked up the habit 
of swearing, he would soon be excom.municated. 

Here, again, the business man offers no defense for 
swearing; but it is incomprehensible to him that we church 
people are so particular about a few incidentals while we 
let the really great questions settle themselves. The 
church takes a very positive stand on the Lord's Supper, 
baptism, blasphemy, and various other nonessentials, 
and is very loth to come out strongly on great funda- 



12 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

mental, social, labor, and political questions on which the 
health, happiness, and prosperity of the community abso- 
lutely rest. 



HYPOCRISY IN THE CHURCH 

The church to-day has no more hyprocisy in it than 
has any other organization. One out of twelve in Jesus' 
time was a traitor and I am sure the ratio is no greater 
at present. On the other hand, it is rather unfortunate 
that in many communities the richest man, and, in many 
cases the most hated man, is often a leader in the church. 

The other Sunday morning, I was addressing an audi- 
ence in one of our largest American cities. It was in the 
leading Episcopal church of that city. I sat behind the 
choir with one of the vestrymen. After the collection 
was taken, it was brought up the aisle by four finely- 
dressed gentlemen. The vestryman whispered to me : 
*'Those are our four leading business men. One is the 
attorney who has just been fighting the prohibition law 
before the Supreme Court; another is the head of our 
steel company, who succeeded in crushing the late strike ; 
the third is our leading banker; and the fourth is the 
owner of our largest department store." 

In a general way, this condition is true of the leading 
church in almost every community. It is a splendid thing 
for these men to be connected with the church and use 
their influence in helping the church; but it is doubtful 
whether they help the church by holding such prominent 
positions. I sometimes wonder whether it was not with 
such in mind that Jesus told those rich men of Jerusalem 
not to let their left hand know what their right hand did, 
in giving alms. He perhaps was ashamed to have the 



t ^ 



BUSINESS MEN AND THE CHURCH 13 

populace know that those rich bankers were connected 
with the church. For their own sake and for the sake of 
the community, He wanted them to give abns generously ; 
but, for the good reputation of the church, He wanted 
them to give anonymously and not to come into promi- 
nence. 

In the average New England small town — ^and the 
same applies to many communities throughout the coun- 
try — there are three prominent structures. There is the 
mill which furnishes emplo)rment to most of the people; 
there is the great house on the hill in which the owner of 
the mill lives; and there is the local church, in which the 
mill owner is the largest contributor and often the leading 
officer. In most instances, this man has been a real benefit 
to the community, and in many cases he is quite sincere 
and fairly unselfish. In many instances, however, he is 
looked upon as a hard-hearted skinflint. He often has 
mortgages on many of the homes; he perhaps has a bad 
record as to the treatment of his labor; and he is gen- 
erally feared, if not hated, by the townspeople. 

The church suffers from such men. Not only do they 
dominate the minister and make life miserable for him, 
but they bring reproach on the whole church industry. In 
a later chapter, we will discuss the difficulty with the 
ministry to-day, but I here want to add that one great 
trouble is the desire of some of these leading men to 
dominate the preacher. Not content with running their 
own business and a good part of the town, these men are 
determined to run the church and the preacher. This 
keeps many good yxDung men with self-respect out of the 
ministry. If these rich men really desired to help the 
church, they would follow Jesus' instruction and keep in 
the background and let the poor preacher alone. 



14 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

Even in this connection, however, there is something 
which we must all carefully consider. The fact which 
we have just stated is intensely interesting to me as a 
statistician. Statistics show that every incident can be 
analyzed and divided into two parts, the cause and the 
effect. When these facts just given are considered, one 
wonders which is the cause and which ^3 the effect. Is 
the man interested in the church because he is the leading 
man in the community, or is he the leading man in the 
community because he is so greatly interested in the 
church? This is something worthy of most careful con- 
sideration and study. My own personal conclusions are 
that these leading men owe their success to their early 
religious training. Their interei=,^ in the church is the 
cause of their success, rather than the result of their suc- 
cess. Statistics show that the same qualities which make 
a man successful in business are the qualities which make 
him interested in religion. I refer to those fundamentals 
of faith, vision, courage, sympathy, thrift, and industry. 
These are fundamental characteristics which make a man 
successful in business and interested in religion. 

These investigations have led me to believe that religion 
is the great undeveloped resource of America to-day. 
These very things which we criticize as inconsistent and 
hypocritical are, upon examination, most wonderful testi- 
monies to the church and the religion for which the 
church stands. It is with this utilitarian thought in 
mind that I will go on and discuss religion in its various 
aspects with the hope of interesting more business men 
therein. 



CHAPTER II 

RICH men's and poor MEN's CHURCHES 

There are various kinds of churches from the business 
man's point of view. There are rich churches and poor 
churches. 

There are two kinds of rich men's churches : 

(1) There is the kind which preaches the productive 
life; which teaches men to be meek, honest, thrifty, in- 
dustrious, and useful. This is the church which makes 
''Service" its watchword. Such a church cannot help 
being- a rich man's church. The pastor who constantly 
preaches and practises these principles is sure to build 
up a prosperous congregation. The congregation that 
follows thes€ principles is sure to become prosperous. 

(2) There is another form of rich men's churches 
which is of an entirely different nature. It is the church 
to which the wealthy people of the community have nat- 
urally gravitated. This is the church known as the most 
aristocratic and exclusive in the city. Most of the mem- 
bers of such churches have inherited their money. They 
have not won it through useful service to the community. 
They have been brought up in comfort and luxury, have 
not known what it is to struggle, and consequently are not 
well developed physically, intellectually, or spiritually. 
As they cannot excel in the worth-while things of the 
community, they naturally seek for distinction by wear- 
ing the best clothes, having expensive automobiles, or 
living in a large house with a lot of servants. This is the 

15 



16 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

kind of rich men's church which worth-while people will 
avoid and with which worth-while preachers will dread 
to become connected. These churches not only result in 
smothering the high ideals of a few consecrated people 
within their membership, but they are truly a blot and 
handicap to the great religious movement of the nation. 
There are also two kinds of poor men's churches : 
(1) There is the mission church trying to teach un- 
fortunates how to live. This poor man's church is worthy 
of the greatest respect and of constant support. The 
|>riest or pastor of this church is teaching a life of faith, 
meekness, and reverence. He is urging his people to be 
honest, clean, and thrifty. He is following his Master in 
teaching the Life of Service, assuring his people that if 
they will lead such a life all the things that they need will 
be given unto them. Such a poor man's church becomes 
before long a rich man's church, at first of the type above 
described under paragraph (i) and then later often of 
the type described under paragraph (2) above. 

The old saying, "It is only three generations from 
shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves," is most commonly illus- 
trated in connection with the rise and fall of church con- 
gregations. First, in a young community, we have the 
struggling group which stands for thrift, honesty, teach- 
ableness, faith, and industry. This group starts in to till 
the soil, develop industries, and build up the community. 
With them, thrift, industry, and service are matters of 
religion. After a while they become prosperous. If 
they didn't, their religion would be no good. Then a 
second generation comes along who have not had to 
struggle and who have inherited the property created by 
their parents. The church then enters the second stage 
and becomes a rich man's church of the second class. 



f 'it: 



RICH men's and poor MEn's CHURCHES 1? 

fThe second generation attends church; but it attends it 
in a perfunctory way. It does not feel the ne^ of 
religion; it is depending on property rather than upon 
production; on protection rather than faith. Finally 
comes along thef third generation, which has no interest 
in the church whatsoever. The church begins to wane 
for lack of interest; it needs repairs; it has a poorly paid 
and inefficient preacher; and, finally, drops into the class 
Vvdiich I am about to describe, namely, the typical poor 
man's church which is so common to-day. 

(2) Yes, there is a poor man's church which sho<uld 
not be defended. It should either be galvanized into 
action or else should be exterminated. This poor man^s 
church exists in various forms. Among the Protestant 
denominations it consists of those inefficient little 
churches where the pastor is struggling to exist on a 
meager salary; and where the people attend church 
merely from habit, without the least idea of getting any 
benefit. Thousands and thousands of such churches are 
scattered all over our land. They are a disgrace to re- 
ligion and handicap the entire religious industry. The 
movement as a whole would be far better off to-day if 
these inefficient and half-dead churches were eliminated. 

The Protestants are not alone guilty of running poor 
men's churches. The Catholic Church stands out con- 
spicuously as an example of poor men's churches. I 
believe that the Catholic Church has a distinct place in 
the economic program of the nation. If all churches were 
w^iped out to-day, a strong Catholic Church would arise 
from the ruins just as truly as would a strong Protes- 
tant Church. The main thing that many have against 
the Catholic Church is not its theology or even its his- 
torical claims and traditions; but rather the fact that its 



18 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

people SO often continue poor. This is most strikingly 
illustrated when one travels in Europe, from a Protes- 
tant country to a Catholic country; or when one travels 
from California or Texas across the border into Mexico. 
Of course it can be said in rebuttal that God made the 
poor people and loves the poor people. Jesus himself 
was poor. Hence some church must take care of the 
poor people. 



TWO MAJOR SINS, 

A study of the teachings of Jesus shows clearly that 
He looked upon the two following as the great cardinal 
sins: 

(1) Disregard for the laws of God. When He told 
people to love God "with all their hearts'* and seek to 
do His will, He simply meant that people should try to 
learn what is God's will and then conform thereto. In 
simple English, this means that we should seek to learn 
the laws of health, the laws of production, the laws of 
nature in general and conform to them and capitalize 
them. If Jesus were here to-day, He would give His 
greatest rewards to the scientist, the Inventor, the teacher, 
and those who are trying to make two blades of grass 
grow where only one grew before. These are the men 
who are truly seeking to learn God's will and, as they 
practise it and teach it to others, they are seeking to have 
God's will done on earth as it is in Heaven. It was in 
connection with this that Jesus urged people to avoid 
sensual gratification, useless expenditure, and wasteful 
efforts of all kinds. Drinking, gambling, dancing, and 
the various other so-called vices are or are not sinful 
according to whether they strengthen or weaken us. To 



RICH MEN S AND POOR MEN S CHURCHES 19 

the extent that customs and practises develop us and 
make us more efficient, they are right. To the extent 
that our pleasures and amusements weaken us, physically, 
mentally, or spiritually, they are wrong. 

A vast amount of good could be done by frankly ex- 
plaining to people why a thing is right or wrong. Cer- 
tainly a thing is not right or wrong because some one 
says so ; a thing is not right or wrong because we like or 
dislike it; a thing is not right or wrong because a major- 
ity of voters so decided it. A thing is right or wrong 
simply according to whether a thing is best or worst for 
us in the long run. If it is best for us to do in the long 
run, it is right; if it is harmful to us in the long run, it 
is wrong. 

"Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make 
you free.'* This is the slogan to which we all should 
rally. Let the preachers of our churches cease preaching 
sermons wholly on Bible texts, but rather base them on 
sound, economic teachings. The church will never come 
to its own until the theological schools give the best 
course in economics procurable, and until the preachers 
are the best informed economists in their communities. 

When Jesus said ^'Blessed are the meek, for they shall 
inherit the earth,'' He referred to those people who are 
teachable, not those who are pig-headed and think they 
know everything; but those who are willing and anxious 
to learn. These are the people who seek to know the will 
of God. These are the people with a scientific frame of 
mind who meekly seek the truth, who meekly preach the 
truth, and who meekly adapt their ways to the truth. Of 
course, such people will inherit the earth. Nothing else 
could happen. Just as truly as man by his superior intel- 
ligence has gained dominion over the animal world, so 



20 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

that group of humans who meekly seek to know God's 
will and who conform thereto, are bound to have do- 
minion over the rest of mankind. It couldn't work out 
in any other way. ' 

(2) Disregard for our fellow men. Hence in loving 
God with all one's heart Jesus also coupled a second 
command ; namely, We should love our neighbors as our- 
selves. In this Jesus simply put forward the fact which 
Kipling two thousand years later stated in another form : 

"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, 
And the strength of the wolf is the pack." 

Jesus never suggested that we should put others be- 
fore ourselves ; for He knew that would simply mean our 
extermination. Jesus never asked anything unreason- 
able, from an economic or psychological point of view. 
Jesus simply emphasized the great truth that the scien- 
tist of himself is of no value. His strength comes only 
as he learns to work for and with others. Some one has 
said that the greatest barometer of civilization is the 
ability of people to co-operate. The basis of co-opera- 
tion is the consideration of the group as a whole rather 
than of any individual. This has already been developed 
in the family. No man is looked upon as a respectable 
member of society if he does not put the good of his 
family as a whole before the good of himself or any indi- 
vidual member. The strength, growth, and prosperity of 
families depend on this spirit of solidarity and co-opera- 
tion. A family to-day is not considered respectable unless 
it is observing the Golden Rule among its own members. 

When emphasizing this second great principle of pros- 
perity, that of considering our neighbors equally with 
ourselves, Jesus simply desired to extend to all members 



RICH men's and poor MEN's CHURCHES : 21 

of the church this same principle that is applied and 
accepted in relation tQ families. History shows that the 
early church took Jesus very literally in this respect and 
they were practical communists, having a common treas- 
ury. This system failed, and wherever it has since been 
tried it has likewise failed again. Statistics, however, 
clearly indicate that there is a happy medium between 
the communist church of the early centuries and the indi- 
vidualistic churches of to-day. We do not take the earn- 
ings of our children and put them into a common pot 
and divide them equally among all. We know this would 
not work, and we know that no family could be operated 
on such a principle. Even the socialists and communists 
tha{ preach this doctrine for the nation as a whole refuse 
to use it in connection with their own families, of which 
they are the head. There is no excuse for the com- 
munism, socialism, or any of the other *'isms" that we 
hear preached about to-day by good, bad, or lazy people. 
The church, however, has gone to the other extreme and 
is now altogether too individualistic or indifferent. Indi- 
vidualism has run wild in both the Protestant and 
Catholic denominations. 

The future church will be operated more along the 
lines of the respectable family. Each man will have his 
own income and will be allowed to develop freely along 
his owm lines, receiving the fruits of his initiative, thrift, 
imagination, and industr}^ On the other hand, he will 
recognize that his ultimate safety and success depends on 
having the other members of the group healthy, happy, 
and prosperous. He will recognize that an uneducated 
brother will simply be a drag on the group and if he is 
the only prosperous member of the community, this 
brother will be a drag upon him. He will see that if he 



22 RELIGiU.N AND BUSINESS 

has an ill sister who is weak and under-nourished, it is 
good business for him to get her built up physically and 
have her become a strong member of society. This is the 
position taken by every sane member of a family to-day^ 
Each instinctively, in his own interests, wants to see his 
l| brothers educated, his sisters well married, and all the 

family healthy, happy, and prosperous. He knows that 
his health, happiness, and prosperity ultimately depend 
on having the whole family in the same condition. 

This is the spirit which the church of the future will 
adopt. The spirit which now applies only to families will 
'be taken up by one of the present great church denomina- 
tions or by some new denomination and become the basis 
of a strong and prosperous people. To a small extent, this 
principle has been adopted by certain lodges and socie- 
ties, but the great big advance in civilization is coming 
when the church adopts the family principle and loves its 
neighbor as itself. 

wanted: more millionaires 

In view of these facts, it is very important that the 
church should be put in a proper light before the nation. 
As above described, there are many rich men's churches 
and there are many^poor men's churches which should be 
eliminated. Both of these classes of churches are a blot 
on the community and a disgrace to the religion for 
which they stand. The pastors of these churches are, in 
many instances, merely drawing their existence out of 
these rich or poor congregations without giving them 
value in return. Business men are justified in condemn- 
ing such rich and poor churches which lack the vision, 
which perform no service, and whose people remain rich 
or remain poor in accordance with their environment. 



RICH MEN^S AND POOR MEN^S CHURCHES 23 

On the other hand, criticism of the church by certain 
radicals and liberals because it is apart from the masses 
is unjustifi^. If I went to a community with only one 
church and found that church made up of only the poor 
people of the community, I would say that its religion 
was no good. The very fact that the church people of 
most communities are the more prosperous people of 
those communities is the great outstanding testimony of 
religion. It is of no credit to the church that yotne of 
our rich men's sons who have inherited their nr^ney are 
interested in the churches. In many instances it would 
be better to have the interest of these men k:pt in the 
background rather than exhibited or advertised. The 
church, however, should be proud of the fact that these 
rich men's fathers, who created the industries and built 
up the fortunes, were churchmen. Moreover, the church 
should point with pride to the fact that its people are the: 
more prosperous people of the communities in which the 
active churches exist. 

Jesus continually preached that we should seek to do 
the will of God and should consider our fellow men 
equally with ourselves. He continually depreciated the 
many things like dress, pride, and certain pleasures, for 
which the world strives. He, however, never closed a 
talk without ending up with this thought: "If you will 
do the will of God and consider others with yourself, 
all the things which you seek, that are really worth while, 
you will get." 

There is much dangerous talk going about concerning 
the church because it is not allied more closely with "the 
masses." Many radicals point with derision to the church 
because it is allied with the property interests of the 
country. Most of us to avoid argument let these state- 
ments go unchallenged. This is a great mistake. These 



24 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

criticisms should be fearlessly answered. We should 
point with pride to the fact that most of the church 
people are prosperous and that most of the poor people 
are outside the church. We should be much more' 
ashamed if the church were made up of poor people and 
the prosperous people were outside of the church. Then 
we truly would have something to fear. Then we shouldi 
be ashamed to ask others to join us or become interested 
in religion. 

THE QUESTION OF INHERITANCES 

The only weakness in such arguments is involved in 
the question of inheritances. Many people are connected 
with the church who have inherited their property and 
who have not won it through industry, thrift, and other 
forms of service. To the extent that the church is oper-i 
ated and supported by such people, the church is weak and' 
subject to criticism. The inheritance of property develops 
weakness and cannot be defended on spiritual, economic, 
or scientific grounds. The only excuse for the present in-, 
heritance laws is that man has yet been unable to devise 
a better system' for disposing of property after death. 

Certainly government ownership would not be prefer- 
able to private ownership. Certainly it would not be a 
more efficient civilization if the state, rather than our 
^children, inherited our property. The reason for this is 
self-evident. If our children do not take care of the prop-' 
erty which we leave them, it soon passes into the hands 
of families who will take care of it. Here again the old 
saying that it is only three generations from shirt sleeves 
to shirt sleeves comes into operation. If, however, otir^ 
property should go to the state, it would continue to 



^ 



RICH MEN S AND POOR MEN S CHURCHES 25 

remain in the hands of the state, irrespective of whether 
the state operated it efficiently or inefficiently. 

Under a free competitive system the acres naturally go 
to the men who are able to< get the most out of them ; the 
industries naturally come under the control of the men 
who are able to most efficiently operate them ; and wealth 
naturally gravitates to those people who use it for the 
good of the community rather than to those who' use it 
only to satisfy their own selfish and sensual desires. 
There is only one fly in the ointment; namely, the use of 
trusts and proxies. Both these are harmful to society, 
as they tend to hold property and power in the hands of 
the inefficient. With a free and honestly operated com- 
petitive system of inheritance, industry, power, and 
wealth will gradually but constantly come into the. hands 
of those best fitted to care for it. While under state 
ownership or under trusteeship the tendency is in another 
direction. 

This briefly is the case of the rich man and the poor 
man, so far as they relate to the church and religion. 



. CHAPTER III 

RELIGION AND THE WAGE WORKER 

I SHALL not here defend either employers or wage 
workers. Both have a good case. The wage workers 
beHeve they have as much right to join a labor union as 
to join a church, and that the objection of their em- 
ployers thereto is due to fear and a feeling that their 
power is passing into other hands. The employers 
believe that the wage workers combine in order to secure 
through the use of force what they are unwilling to get 
by industry and thrift. 

iWe are in a most critical period. Unless both em- 
ployers and wage workers quickly come to their senses, 
we shall witness the greatest industrial and financial 
panic which this country has ever experienced. We are 
all sitting on a keg of powder. Only carefulness and 
saneness on the part of every one can prevent an explo- 
sion. The relation of the church to organized labor may 
be the straw to break the camel's back. Therefore it is 
well for all interested in either religion or business to 
consider the psychology underlying the problem. 

HUNGER FOR SELF-EXPRESSION 

Let me ask each reader to think when was the happiest 
time of his or her life. Was it during childhood ? Was 
it during boyhood or girlhood ? Was it during early busi- 
ness career? When was it? Those of you readers who 

26 



RELIGION AND THE WAGE WORKER 27 

are men should think now and then of your days oi^ 
courtship. 

When a young- fellow you had always been thrown 
with girls. Some you liked, some you didn't like, and 
others meant nothing to you one way or the other. But 
one day a special girl came into your life. There was 
nothing remarkable about her. There were other girls 
brighter, other girls stronger, and other girls prettier. 
Your parents and many of your friends failed to under- 
stand why you were so crazy about this special one. They 
acknowledged that she was a good enough girl, but they 
couldn't see in her what you saw. You remember the 
great hold which she then had on you. You couldn't get 
her out of your thoughts. When with her, the hour hand 
of the clock went around so fast you could almost see it 
move. When you were waiting for her, every minute 
seemed an hour. 

CRAVING FOR SYMPATHY 

It IS true that by the world's standards there was noth- 
ing remarkable about that girl of yours. By the world's 
standards there were thousands of abler, stronger, jollier, 
and prettier girls than yours. What was it about her that 
made you want to be with her every minute? Let me tell 
you. Let us call the girl ''Ann." 

Ever since you reached the adolescent period, when 
you quit making mother your confidante, you felt pent 
up. Your emotions and feelings were slov/ly but surely 
being dammed up like a great river. You did not feel 
free to express yourself to any one. Nobody understood 
you. You feared to be honest because people laughed at 
you. But somehow you became aware of the fact that 



2S RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

Ann didn't laugh at you — that Ann understood you — 
that Ann even agreed with you — that Ann expressed 
some longings which for years had been in your heart. 
Gradually you told more and more of your feelings to 
Ann. You learned to trust and love her. She was your 
safety valve, your confidante, your everything. She be- 
came the great free world to you. To be with her was 
your idea of freedom, of living as God intended you 
should live. That's the reason you were then so happy 
with her. It was the first time since you were an inno- 
cent child and said what you pleased that you felt free to 
express yourself. Happiness comes only through self- 
expression. That is what Jesus meant when He said that 
He came to make men ''free" — to give more life. That is 
the great purpose of the' church services, the mid-week 
prayer meetings, and the various other organizations of 
the church. They enable people to express themselves, 
and, owing to such a privilege, these people come to love 
and cherish it. 

We love those who understand us, who are able to put 
our thoughts into language. This is what the labor union 
and its leaders have done for the wage workers, and this 
is why the wage workers feel so loyal toward the labor 
union and its leaders. If the churches had performed this 
service, the wage workers would have felt the same 
tov/ard the churches. 

Happiness is only a reaction from self-expression, 
from sym.pathy, from working with others who see our 
point of view. Our children do not love us in accordance 
with what we do for them, but in accordance with what 
they do for us. A mother does not love her babe in pro- 
portion to what the babe does for her, but in proportion 
to what she does for her babe. When Jesus said: *lt is 



RELIGION AND THE WAGE WORKER 29 

more blessed to give than to receive," He spoke a great 
ifundamental truth. It is more blessed. There is more 
joy and pleasure in it. Being happy ourselves is simply a 
reaction from making others happy. If you are unhappy 
to-day, it is because you are making some one else 
unhappy — a wife, a husband, a son, a daughter, a fellow 
workman, a partner in business, a customer, a friend, the 
man for whom you work, or the man who works for you. 
Your unhappiness is a reaction from his or her unhappi- 
ness. Change about. Make others happy and you'll be! 
happy. 

But to return to those happy months of courtship. You 
were hungering for an opportunity for self-expression and 
that girl gave it to you. She personified the hopes and 
ambitions which had for years been smouldering in your 
Boul. She was an oasis in the desert. You seized her all 
"because you so hungered for the privilege of self-expres- 
sion. You didn't care for wages or hours when working 
for her ! You wanted no pay for serving her ! Your only 
thought regarding hours was that the old clock went 
around too fast. All because she understood and satisfied 
an inborn desire in your soul which others could not 
understand. This one thing made her everything to you, 
made you willing to risk all or give up all for her. This 
same psychological factor is the basis of the hold which 
the church has on millions of people. For any business 
man to attempt to ignore the church or its influence would 
be as useless as to attempt to ignore the sex impulse and 
the great physiological forces emanating therefrom. 

LABOR IS IN THE ADOLESCENT PERIOD 

Labor to-day is in the adolescent period. For years its 
emotions have been pent up; its natural desire for self- 



30 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

expression has been curbed; the hunger for freedom to 
go and do as it wished has been growing stronger and 
stronger. It is now breaking through. Yet the average 
employer is attempting to treat labor as our parents 
treated us in our 'teens. We, the employers, are arguing 
and threatening these wage workers. Did argument or 
threats ever do us any good? Did we give up the girl, 
quit playing ball, or lose a chance to swim because of our 
parents' arguments? 

The labor unions and their leaders arc to the masses 
to-day what that girl was to you years ago, and what the 
church was to our mother. Much of their teaching is 
unsound. Much of it is uneconomic. Its force will to a 
great extent burn itself out; but just now these leaders 
are promising the masses that privilege of self-expres- 
sion for which they have so long sought. 

The question before us is, Shall we continue to dam the 
stream and risk a repetition in this country of what is 
taking place in Russia, or shall we give it some outlet? 
Shall we drive either our children or our employes away 
from us or shall we let them have the opportunity which 
they so much crave? Shall we recognize that the same 
desires for self-expression and freedom actuate our wage 
workers as actuate ourselves, or shall we attempt to crush 
these human and natural feelings ? If we do the latter, we 
shall simply pull down the house upon our own heads. 
If, on the other hand, we willingly recognize these natural 
desires on the part of labor, we churchmen will approve 
of labor unions, collective bargaining, and any other rea- 
sonable request that our employes make. 

INBORN DESIRE FOR FREEDOM 

There also was another reason why those few months 
before your marriage were the happiest months of your 



RELIGION AND THE WAGE WORKER 31 

life. During those months there were no contracts or 
laws, and few conventionalities to bind you. Both you 
and your sweetheart were absolutely free to come or go 
as you wished. Before your engagement was announced, 
you were bound by conventionality; while after the mar- 
riage, you were bound by civil law. But during those 
few happy months you and she were bound only by your 
own consciences. Each of you gave your utmost to the 
other because you were anxious to hold each other. 
Neither of you asked too much of the other for fear of 
frightening the other away. Neither you nor she dared 
be cross, impatient, or unreasonable in those days. You 
knew you couldn't afford to be. After the marriage, the 
civil law came into action (and right it is that it should), 
but the civil law has its disadvantages as well as its 
advantages. The civil law made you careless. Uncon- 
sciously you argued that your wife could not leave you 
then, however cross you were. Gradually those true co- 
operative relations which existed during the courtship 
days disappeared and you became an ordinary drudge 
like your neighbors. 

There is nothing constructive in force. We can't make 
people like us. We can't force people to trust us. We can 
never legislate people to protect us. Unless we have the 
good will of our employes, their work is of little avail. 

GOOD WILL vs. LAWS 

My sympathies are very much with every employer of 
labor. If I am to be held responsible for a job, I want to 
know that those under me are to take their orders from 
me. I want only workers whom I can trust to obey me 
under any and all conditions. But can I get such service 
and loyalty better than by trusting people myself? In 



32 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

the last analysis, men are moved by their hearts and not 
by their agreements. 

Wouldn't you rather have one Vv^atchmari in your store 
who loved you than a force of twenty who hated you? 
Affection and loyalty can never be secured with money, 
with law, with oaths or contracts. Both the banker and 
the lawyer are helpless to render us aid in getting 
another's affections. Trust is the reaction from trust 
Affection is the reaction from affection. Protection is the 
reaction from protection. We want our employes to- work 
for us. The way for us to bring this about is for us to 
work for our employes — protect them in their unions and 
in their desire for self-expression. From this point of 
view, the teachings of Jesus are seen to bear a most inti- 
mate relationship to labor problems. 

LABOR UNIONS MAKE MANY MISTAKES 

The church cannot defend the labor unions in all they 
do. Many of their acts are short-sighted and harmful. 
The present high cost of living is largely due to the short- 
sighted policy of the labor unions. All attempts to get 
richer by restricting production are both foolish and 
costly. Unless shorter hours and more pay result in 
making better men and women, such changes are of no 
avail. The church must not allow its sympathy to get 
the better of its economics. It might wish that two and 
two should make five, but wishes and statistics are very 
different things. 
The church should recognize these two facts: 
(i) The wage workers themselves are the chief suf- 
ferers from their own economic errors. The employer, 
whether merchant or manufacturer, passes on the in- 



RELIGION AND THE WAGE WORKER 33 

creased cost of living to the consumer. Labor itself is the 
great consumer. Those who own the land, factories, 
homes, and tools add the increases in taxes and wages 
to the selling price of the goods which the working people 
buy, to the interest rates for the money which the work- 
ing people borrow, and to the rents of the houses in which 
the working people live. The wage workers ultimately 
have to pay the freight and ultimately suffer for any mis- 
takes which have been made. 

(2) The labor unions are but the natural firm of self- 
expression, inevitable at this age. Groups of wage work- 
ers are to-day at the same point industrially as you were 
physically when about sixteen years of age. You were 
then determined to strike out for yourself. Dad called it 
"sowing your wild oats"; but whatever it was, you could 
not be stopped. You had reached the stage of develop- 
ment which a bud reaches when ready to burst forth into 
the spring sunlight. That is the situation with labor to- 
day. Labor has been dormant a long time. It is now 
budding forth and no power on earth can stop it. One 
might as well try to destroy a ball of mercury by hitting 
it with a hammer, as to try to crush labor's desire for 
self-expression. If the church will provide labor with 
such an opportunity for self-expression, the wage work- 
ers will join the church; but otherwise, they will join 
only the union. Social movements thrive on persecu- 
tion. You can imprison a man ; but not an idea. 

ARE LABOR UNIONS INEVITABLE? 

When you fell in love with that girl, would it have 
done any good if your father had forbidden you to "or-' 
ganize" for that little home? Of course it would have 



A 



34 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

done no good. For the same reason it will do no good to 
attempt to prevent our wage workers from organizing. 
The churches had better use their influence in helping 
labor to organize under religious leaders. The church 
should not want to dam the stream of progress; but the 
church should direct the flow of the" stream. 

The actions of the union are open to much just criti- 
cism, but we do not blame an infant for crawling about 
aimlessly bef^-re it has learned the more efficient use of its 
legs. So v|t ifivL&t not blame the first generation of union 
leaders if they make a bad mess of things. Their powers 
of reasoning must pass through the period of youth and 
must experience the phenomena of growth like all othe'r 
functions. The sooner labor makes the experiment and 
"sows its wild oats," the sooner it will learn that real 
prosperity can exist only under a system which protects 
property as well as opportunity, under a system in which 
the greatest rewards shall go to those who render the 
greatest service. 

HOW MEN ARE CONTROLLED 

What foolish, short-sighted people we all are; both 
employers and wage earners! We business men think 
that the world is governed by intellect. It is not. We 
think people are controlled by their minds. They are not. 
Both employers and wage earners are controlled by their 
emotions; by love or hate; by sympathy or jealousy; by 
hope or fear. If this is so, it is evident that only religion 
can bring together employers and wage earners. 

We think the wage workers are striking for wages or 
/hours. They are not. They are striking for self-expres- 
sion. They are actuated by the same desires for self- 



RELIGION AND THE WAGE WORKER 35 

respect, self-preservation, and self -propagation as actuate 
the employers. We think that employers are fighting for 
more profits. -They are not. These employers know that 
houses, factories, stocks, and bonds don't make men 
happy. They now have everything that money can buy. i- . -^ 
It is not for money reasons that they are resisting the '^^^^ 
demands of the labor unions. These employers are activ- 
ated by the same desires of self-respect, self-preservatioiif^N 
and self-propagation as actuate the wage workers. Both ^, 
are thinking of the same indefinite things, but in different > ., 

terms. And, to return once more to the courtship illus- 
tration, the same means of persuasion are necessary to 
win men during industrial disputes as are needed to win 
a lover during the courtship days. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF FEELINGS 

What does this all mean? It means that the labor 
problem is really a question of religion rather than of 
economics. The problem can never be settled by the 
methods now being used by either side. It can be set- 
tled only by each side thinking more of the community 
and less of itself; only as the church takes an active part 
in the struggle. What would Jesus tell both sides of the 
labor conflict were He here to-day ? I think He would say 
what we read in the 38th tc 42nd verses of the fifth chap- 
ter of Matthew. 

^'Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and 
a tooth for a tooth ; but I say unto you. Resist not him that 
is evil; but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, 
turn to him the other also. If any man would go to law 
with thee and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak 
also; and whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go 
with him two." 



'■if 

if 



36 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

He would advise each side to win the other by loan- 
ing them the cloak also. The secret of success is to do 
more than is demanded. In advising His hearers to give 
up their cloak also, when some one sued them at law to 
take away their coat — to go an extra mile when compelled 
to go only one, Jesus emphasized a great psycholog-ical 
truth. Jesus understood that the Law of Equal Reaction 
applies to human relations as it applies to astronomy, 
chemistry, and mechanics. He knew that to get a bene- 
ficial reaction we must go the second mile. There is no 
power nor glory in doing only what we have to do. The 
glory comes with the second mile. 

THE REAL WINNERS 

The side which ultimately will win this labor conflict 
is the side which will voluntarily give up the most. We 
must win our wage workers or our employer as our 
mother won us, not by giving us only what she was com- 
pelled to give us, but by always doing more for us than 
we asked. That is why we love mother, that is why we 
would do anything for her to-day. That is why the tears 
come into our eyes as we think of her. Did you ever stop 
to analyze what is the difference between a boarding 
house and a home ? The boarding house is a place where 
they do for you only what they are compelled to do; but 
a home is where they do for you more than you ask. 

The basic difficulty with the labor situation to-day is 
that too many are, like Shylock, after the pound of flesh, 
trying to do as little as possible and to get as much as pos- 
sible. Prosperity cannot long exist where this continues 
to be the motive. Hence the prosperity of a nation is very 
closely allied with its religion. Hence religion bears 



RELIGION AND THE WAGE WORKER 37 

an intimate relationship to business conditions. This is 
especially evident in connection with industrial and labor 
problems. 



CHRISTIANITY AND COMMERCIALISM 

It was Lincoln who said the nation cannot long con- 
tinue half slave and half free. During the first great 
Liberty Loan drive, Mr. McAdoo applied this to democ- 
racy also. In the last analysis, this principle must be 
applied to religion. Surely we cannot long continue to 
have one standard of brotherhood for our home relations 
and another for our industrial and commercial relations. 
The home cannot always be operated by love and the 
business by jealousy. 

Both organization and competition have their uses; 
but both also have their abuses. Hence the aspirations 
of the average employer and w-age w^orkers are short- 
sighted and anti-Chri.6tian. So long as each side con- 
tinues to fight the other, we shall have higher prices and 
greater inefficiency, possibly ending in revolution. 

But religion is not urging us to go the second mile 
and to give up our cloak also, simply because Jesus said so. 
History shows conclusively that real influence comes only 
from going the second mile. When an employer or wage 
worker does only what he has to do, he ends up where he 
begins. The creation of influence and power comes from 
going the second mile. Real power comes as a reaction 
from patience, good will, and a divine willingness to do 
gxx)d to all, as God sends rain upon the just and the 
unjust. The teachings of the church in this regard are 
absolutely sound psychologically. 

No man ever saved any one or served any great cause 



38 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

who was not willing to forget indignities, love his ene- 
mies, and win by beating the other fellow to it! In a 
little book entitled *'The Second Mile" Harry E. Fosdick 
quotes Stevenson's story of the four marines left over 

< from the lifeboat of the British ship ''Wager." The life- 

boat took all that it could, and pulled away, compelled to 

: leave four men unsaved. What did these four men do? 

I Did they sulk? No. They gave "three cheers" when the 

C" boat pulled away and left them. This is the spirit which 

I true religion develops. 

I The need of the hour is this spirit in the hearts of all 

interests. The need of America to-day is more cheering 
for the other side. When the employers cheer for labor 
and try to help labor truly come to its own, and when the 
wage workers cheer for the employers, realizing all that 
they owe to them, then shall we have real prosperity, and 
this prosperity will be better protected than ever before. 
The solution of the labor problem will come about only 
as we all get more religion and apply this religion more 
to e very-day life. 

The churches of America hold that religion is the only 
solution for America's industrial problems, for the fol- 
lowing reasons : 

( 1 ) Labor must get back its desire to produce. 

(2) This desire is intangible and can be brought about 
only by winning the confidence of the workers. 

(3) To win the confidence of the workers, we must 
realize that the interests of labor are paramount to the 
interests of capital, and that the real purpose of industry 
shall be not to produce material things, but to develop 
human souls. 

(4) To so develop the workers, we must permit them 
to organize, must recognize their leaders, and must give 



RELIGION AND THE WAGE WORKER 39 

them full knowledge regarding the business, consulting 
them when they desire to be consulted. 

(5) We should strive to apply the same principles in 
dealing with our employes as we apply in dealing with 
our families. This is in accordance with the teachings of 
religion and the meaning of the Golden Rule. 






CHAPTER IV 

RELIGION AND THE EMPLOYER 

We all remember how when boys we hated to carry 
I water for mother, but stood in line for a chance to carry 

^.^' it for the elephants when the circus came to town. We 

f know how to-day our children hate to help about house- 

work at home and yet are crazy to g-o to camp and work 
very much harder building fires, cooking, and keeping the 
camp clean. We see men who are languid and indifferent 
•about their work in the factory, go out into the hot sun 
at noontime, pitch ball, and run the bases with life and 
vigor. 

All of these things show that it is not work, as such, 
that men and women want to avoid. People love to work 
when they are interested in the work. The trouble is that 
the masses are not interested in their work. Not being 
able to see the results of their labors, they are not stimu- 
lated by appreciation. They lack the desire to do things. 
The great need to-day is to revive in labor an interest in 
Uhe work. When this is accomplished, labor problems 
will fade away, production will greatly increase, the cost 
of living will decline, and every one will be healthier, 
happier, and more prosperous. 

The factory system and the "master and servant" idea 
is resulting in castrating labor economically. Labor is 
becoming an economic eunuch. By nature man likes to 

40 



RELIGION AND THE EMPLOYER 41 

produce. He starts in by making mud pies, then he builds 
a hut, and then he makes other things. The boy by nature 
turns to his jacknife, and the girl by nature turns to 
her dolls. After, however, a man has been in a mill or 
factory a certain length of time that natural desire to 
produce leaves him. The labor problem will never be 
solved until the desire to produce is revived. For this 
revival we must depend upon religion. 

It will take more than higher wages or shorter hours 
to recreate in labor the desire to produce. There are 
doubtless many instances where higher wages and shorter 
hours are the first step in bringing about better relations 
and greater production. As a house is useless without a 
foundation, so it is useless to talk "co-operation" to a X. 
worker who is not earning enough to pay for the bare ^ 
necessities of life. On the other hand, a foundation is of 
no use by itself; it becomes of value only as a building is 
erected upon it. In the same way, higher wages and 
shorter hours are of value only as they result in making 
people healthier, happier, and more prosperous. 

Statistics show clearly that many concerns have had 
better results from working their people eight hours than 
from ten hours. But there are many other concerns 
which are not getting such good results. Ultimately the 
question of wages and hours will be determined by the 
results obtained. If increased wages and shorter hours 
result only in proportionately increasing the cost of liv- 
ing, the wage workers themselves will turn to some other 
system. This turning is already taking place. The 
I. W. W., Bolshevist, and other radical movements have 
come into being because their members believe that they 
are accomplishing nothing by depending upon the trade 
unions and other conservative labor bodies. 






42 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

WHAT LABOR WANTS 

; Labor does not want charity or welfare work, but 

rather more of real wages. Bonuses, profit-sharing 
^j schemes, and welfare work which does not increase the 

f efficiency of the worker ultimately add their cost to the 

|l (t output, and, like increased money wages, are passed on to 

k the consumer. Labor unions seldom secure real wage 

i) I increases. They simply bring about a readjustment of 

I prices and wages, to the true benefit of no one. 

Real wages are the kind which will supply to the wage 
worker more of the things which he wants. The wage 
worker is now fooling himself by dollar wages. An 
increase in real wages comes about only through improve- 
ments in manufacture and distribution which do not 
increase the cost of production, or through the reduction 
of taxation, or through the opening up of more land, 
natural resources, and other opportunities which arouse 
the ambitions of men. 

"Collective bargaining" and the "strike" are the union's 
weapons for obtaining a "loan" or a temporary increase 
in wages. This increase is effective only until the time 
when the increase is added to the price of the product, 
which varies from one or more months to one or more 
years, according to the industry. Ultimately, however, 
all increases in wages and increases in taxes are added 
to the price of the product and passed on to the consumer, 
who, in ninety per cent, of the cases is the wage worker. 
The unfortunate part of the situation, however, is that 
such collective bargaining and strikes are the only avail- 
able means which labor now has for its defense and its 
immediate, even although temporary, betterment. The 
real increase in wages must come about through improved 
production and distribution, reduced taxation, an exten- 



RELIGION AND THE EMPLOYER 43 

sion of education and opportunity, and — most important 
of all — the development of religion within the hearts of 
both wage workers and employers. Whether or not the 
wage worker will ever be satisfied until profits are also 
eliminated and the employer is dependent on a salary or ^ 

commission, only the future will disclose. * 

Labor's bitterness to-day is due to the fact that labor 
is unable to endure a long siege, while the employers are | 

so able. Thus the wage worker feels that we employers 
maintain our dominating power not through our eco- 
nomic service to the community, but rather through the 
money which we have accumulated or inherited. Of 
course, this system would never be improved by substi- 
tuting the autocracy of labor for the autocracy of money; 
but an attempt will be made to bring about this change 
unless religion soon becomes a real force in industry. 
Only then will men and women become imbued with a 
desire to be of service. 

CREATING IN LABOR A DESIRE TO PRODUCE 

We first must realize that desire is not something like 
water or gas which can be turned on and off with a 
faucet. A desire to produce is an intangible religious 
motive. It is true that these non-tangibles are all power- 
ful and largely control life. Psychologists claim that 
ninety-five per cent, of what we do is done from our emo^ 
tions, rather than from our intellects. Of course, if this 
is so, pride, fear, and hate must be included with love, 
sympathy, and hope. Under these conditions it is evi- 
dent that this needed desire to produce cannot be forced 
or created by any artificial means. No mechanical profit- 
sharing plan, for instance, will recreate in labor a desire 



^i 



44 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

to produce. No vote by a board of directors, or action 
by any official can recreate in labor a desire to produce. 
Such a desire cannot be developed by the use of plati- 
tudes such as ''the interests of labor and capital are mu- 
tual." Only more religion in the hearts of both employers 
and wage workers will gradually bring both together as 
i H real co-ope*-ators. 

Labor existed before there was any such thing as cap- 
ital, and our forefathers were probably as happy then as 
are either wage workers or employers to-day. Capital is 
a great aid to labor. The wage workers to-day have very 
1 much more in food, clothing, and shelter owing to the 

machinery and other things provided by capital. On the 
other hand, capital without labor would be nothing. 

To recreate in labor a desire to produce, employers 
must stop talking that which the wage worker looks upon 
^ as hypocritical and which to him is a fundamental 
untruth. Instead of longer pretending that the interests 
of labor and capital are "equal,'* employers should 
frankly acknowledge that labor's interest is paramount. 
Only as we take this first step, frankly and fearlessly, can 
we approach a solution of our industrial troubles. This 
means that we employers connected with the churches 
must "go the second mile" in order to win our wage 
workers. 

We must go further and realize that there is as much 
fundamental difference between labor and capital as there 
is between life and death. We must realize that life is 
given to us not for the purpose of building factories or 
hauses, nor for constructing railroads or steamships; nor 
is the purpose of life to develop any of the other material 
things which now appear to us of such rreat importance. 



RELIGION AND THE EMPLOYER 45 

Industry should be encouraged first to develop the soul 
of man, and all these material things are of use only as 
they succeed toward that end. The real truth is that most 
labor leaders have the vision to see this, while most em.- 
ployers have not. Moreover, there is a reason for this. 
The labor people or their friends are now suffering, while 
we employers and our friends are not suffering. The real- 
ization of what life really means comes only through suf- 
fering. We must entirely change our point of view and 
strive for the development of men rather than the pos- 
session of money. We employers need more religion. 

labor's DEMANDS AND HOPES 

It is hard for the average captain of industry to realize 
that his men in overalls give more thought to these big 
social problems than he does himself. It, however, is 
true that the man in overalls in the factory often has a 
saner view of life than the man in broadcloth in the office. 
We are apt to think that our employes cannot be trusted 
in solving industrial questions because they do not under- 
stand accounting and economics. It is true that they have 
not had the opportunity to learn these things. When, how- 
ever, it comes to the fundamentals of life, I would trust 
the judgment of American wage workers equally with 
the judgment of a board of directors. 

There is not as yet much demand on the part of wag6 
workers for representation on boa/ds of directors, nor 
for a hand in the actual management of the business. The 
wage workers still feel that they are not capable of run- 
ning the business. The wage workers do, however, want 
to be consulted about the conditions of work and other 






I 

,1 



46 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

factors with which they are intimately connected. Hence, 
the demand by labor for genuine recognition should be 
upheld by the churches. 
^J In a small organization of one or two hundred people, 

where personal contact between the employer and wage 
worker exists, this recognition can take place individually 
without formal organization. Where there are many 
wage workers, however, a formal organization is neces- 
i sary in order that there may be such recognition. Firms 

* with several thousand or even several hundred employes 

who object to such organization of labor within their 
plants are exceedingly short-sighted. There can be no 
such thing as a solution of our labor problems until labor 
is free to organize and to deal collectively with em- 
ployers. Any attempt to bring about co-operation with- 
out such organization and recognition is a mere waste of 
time and ultimately will do much more harm than good. 
(Profit-sharing plans which result in increased production, 
which develop new ideas, and which pay in themselves 
are all right; but they never can take the place of formal 
recognition of the rights of wage workers. 

The forward church believes that the next important 
step in the solution of the labor problem is for us em- 
ployers graciously to recognize that our employes have 
the right to combine in any way that they see fit, to elect 
any officials that they choose, and to have these officials 
present to us their demands. Furthermore, if any body of 
workers feel that they have not within their own ranks 
men sufficiently trained in labor disputes to represent 
them, they then should be perfectly free to go outside and 
secure such leaders elsewhere, provided they are honest 
and fairly intelligent. The church should, however, insist 
that the leaders both of the employers and the wage 



RELIGION AND THE EMPLOYER 47 

workers should be religious men, and that the principle 
of the ''open shop" shall be kept as a goal. The ''closed 
shop" may temporarily be necessary to labor as a fight- 
ing machine, but only as such. 

The labor problem will be solved only when we em- 
ployers stop thinking that the business is ours and we 
can do with it as we please. We must frankly recognize 
that our wage workers have a right to come to us. The 
old idea that the business is ours tO' hire and fire whom we 
please and as we please, is not in accordance with the 
teachings of religion. Our success as employers 
depends on following the teachings of Jesus. The sooner 
we forget our medieval ideas, inherited from the days 
of feudalism, the sooner we shall solve our labor troubles. 

As part of recognition there must be full publicity. 
Wise employers have no secrets which they keep from 
the wage workers. The books must be open to the wage 
workers or representatives of their own free selection, in 
order to have a truly co-operative spirit exist. The very 
fact that there is no publicity in certain plants makes the 
wage workers suspicious. Of course, there are concerns 
making very huge profits where the stockholders might 
to-day be worse off if the wage workers should know 
actual conditions. The average concern, however, and 
especially those which are making little or fair profits, 
would be very much better off if the wage workers were 
taken into full confidence. There are many concerns 
which could at once recreate in their workers a desire to 
produce if they would only tell their whole story to their 
employes. 

Wage workers desire to have changes in factory man- 
agement talked over with either themselves or their rep- 
resentatives before these changes are instituted. Wage 



48 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

workers hate to have things sprung on them. They are 
human the sam.e as we are, and are actuated by the same 
motives of pride and appreciation. Wage workers have 
a self-respect to protect as well as have employers. They 
can be offended as easily and can have their feelings hurt 
as readily. Our labor problems will be solved only as 
I Ip employers give more thought to these feelings and other 

controlling motives. 

J A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE 

^ Instead of talking about the slogan, "The interests of 

? capital and labor are mutual," we must ultimately come 

to a different slogan; namely, "The interests of our 
workers are the same as the interests of our families." 
In most family relations the proper point of view exists. 
In dealing with members of our family we realize that 
material things are of use only as they develop the soul 
of the individual. We do not figure on how much more 
our children are producing than they are consuming. We 
realize that the family must produce as much or more 
than it consumes in order to exist. After, however, that 
point is reached, our primary desire is to have our fami- 
lies healthy, happy, and in a position where they do not 
have to worry about an existence. 

Jesus forecasted the situation when He indicated that 
industrial unrest would end only as we would love our 
neighbors as ourselves. No father looks upon his family 
as a producing machine. He looks upon it as a group of 
human beings with souls. His desire is not to make them 
support him, but to have them healthy, happy, and pros- 
perous. This does not mean that discipline and obedi- 
ence can be eliminated or that the children can run the 



RELIGION AND THE EMPLOYER 49 

household. Industry, like a well regulated family, needs 
reverence for authority and ownership. 

When, however, the father leaves the home and be- 
comes an employer, he has an entirely different point of 
view toward the members of his neighbor's family. He 
does not look upon these as brothers, but rather as serv- 
ants. He thinks only of how he can make a profit out of 
their labors, not as to how their labors will hurt or harm 
them. He takes an entirely different point of view toward 
the members of his neighbor's family, who work for him, 
from what he takes toward the members of his own 
family. The neighbor's family are mere machines to him, 
for use so long as they will make for him a profit. He 
cares little about their own well-being, and, unless he can 
make a profit from their labors, is perfectly willing that 
they should be idle. This is the real reason why there 
are labor troubles and why the factory system has crushed 
the natural instinct in men and women to produce. 

It probably will be a long time before man pulls down 
the great high wall between his own children and the 
children of his neighbor; but until that wall is pulled 
down there will be no solution of the labor problem. This 
means that the solution must come through religion. 

THE NEXT STEP 

What does this religion mean In concrete terms? 
Among other things it suggests to us business men the 
following : 

( I ) Stop meddling with outside affairs and devote our 
time to becoming acquainted with our own employes. Let 
those of us who employ large groups of people resign 
from boards of charities and other outside interests. We 



i 



> 



^f 



50 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

can leave such things to the many good men and women 
who have no industrial interests of their own. Let us 
remember that, if every employer did the right thing by 
his own people, all industrial problems would immedi- 
ately be solved. 

(2) Let us be directors only in those corporations to 
which we can give our personal attention. Labor troubles 
first began with absentee ownership. Eliminate absentee 
ownership and labor troubles will cease. The man who 
starts a business has very little labor trouble, because he 
knows his men and they know him. Trouble begins when 
he dies, or when he sells out, and the ownership and man- 
agement become separated. 

This does not mean that corporations are not a good 
thing. Corporations are probably necessary; but instead 
of having a very few men directors in many corporations, 
the directorships should be distributed among more 
people in the community, with the understanding that 
there shall be no dummies and that with the honors go 
real responsibility. 

(3) Every corporation should have a stockholders' 
committee on labor. This committee should be com- 
posed of religious people and the members should be 
geographically distributed so that to each could be as- 
signed a certain number of employes for whom the stock" 
holder should be personally responsible. 

Big organizations have come to stay. It is no longer 
possible for the president of the company to be able to 
call all his employes by their first name. It should, how- 
ever, still be possible for the president of the company 
to have a stockholders' committee composed of church- 
men and churchwomen whom he personally knows, and 
to have this stockholders' committee large enough so 



RELIGION AND THE EMPLOYER 51 

that every employe shall be personally acquainted with 
some one on the stockholders' committee. Only by such a 
method can each be acquainted with the other's troubles 
and efforts. Only in such a way can each wage worker 
know that increased effort will be recognized and appre-i 
ciated. Only by such individual recognition and appre-^ 
ciation can the desire in labor to increase production be 
fostered. 



OTHER PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS 

The labor problem is a religious problem. It cannot 
be solved by lawyers, commissions, or paid organization 
officials, whether they represent labor unions or boards of 
trade. The labor problem can be solved only as each side 
comes to understand and know the other side. 

At present, the wage worker is looking chiefly to wages 
and the employer is looking chiefly to growth, while both 
wages and size in themselves are of little value. The solu- 
tion of the labor problem requires all of us to think more 
of service. Then we shall become interested in produc- 
tion. Only by increasing production can the wage worker 
increase his earnings in terms of houses, food, and cloth- 
ing. Only by increasing production can the employer 
have that inward feeling of satisfaction and contentment 
that is what we are all really seeking. 

At present, both sides of the conflict are fighting over 
what already exists, when this of itself is only enough 
to keep the world going a very short time. The nation 
needs more labor and more capital. Both must be encour- 
aged instead of discouraged. Representatives of both 
must be made to see that the future of each depends upoii 
encouraging the other. This new viewpoint can be 



52 



RELIGION AND BUSINESS 






brought about only through increasing the influence oi' 
I the church and establishing a personal acquaintance be- 

j> tween employers and wage workers. If Jesus were here 

>j; to-day He would probably suggest these three things : 

( 1 ) Get the facts. See the other fellow's point of view. 
Don't depend upon what your friends tell you without 
first talking with the other fellow's friends. 

(2) Establish more points of contact between employ- 
ers and wage workers, between directors and employes. 

j^J, ^ ^^^ some systematic method by which every employe shall 

be personally acquainted with some one stockholder. 

(3) Respect your men if you are an employer, and 
respect your employer if you are a wage worker. Remem- 
ber that labor is fighting for a status rather than a wage. 
Remember that wage workers no longer want to be con- 
sidered "poor relations," but rather desire to contribute 
to industry something more than manual labor. 

(4) Insist upon discipline with respect for integrity, 
efficiency, and industry. There must be more organiza- 
tion and better distribution, rather than less ; but men can 
be encouraged to take responsibility. They must be if 
we are to progress, because in the end men are paid only 
for intelligence, whether they are captains of industry or 
mere manual laborers. 



\ 



CHAPTER V 

NATURAL LAW UNDERLIES JESUS' TEACHINGS 

Nature's greatest law is the Law of Equal Reaction, 
first presented to the world by Jesus of Nazareth and 
later in the beginning of the eighteenth century by 
Sir Isaac Newton. This law was first stated by Jesus 
thus : "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured 
unto you"; while Newton expressed it as follows: 
"Every action is followed by an equal reaction." A fuller 
statement of the law would be that every act, word, or 
thought is followed by an equal reaction of the same 
character. Those who have studied physics know how 
this law applies to physical things, especially in mechan- 
ics. I wish to explain its relation to human affairs. In 
its application to human relations the law simply means 
that what we do, say, or think about others reacts to our 
own advantage or disadvantage in accordance with 
whether it is helpful or harmful to others. 

There are six ways in which this law applies. Let me 
explain these six ways by giving some illustrations. 

material reactions 

The simplest reactions are of material things. These 
are illustrated by the bow and arrow, the spring gun, and 
the pendulum. We get a speed out of the arrow equal 
to the strength which we put into bending the bow. We 
get a force out of the spring gun equal to the strength 

53 



\^ 



> 



54 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

which we expend in loading the gun. The pendulum 
swings to the left an equal distance to what it swings to 
the right. The reaction of a spring is exactly propor- 
tional to the energy used to press the spring downward. 
These all are common, every-day occurrences; but they 
illustrate the greatest and most fundamental law of lif 



I the law upon which the Sermon on the Mount was based. 



PHYSICAL REACTIONS 

In the second group the reactions are physical. The 
simplest illustration of this group is the strength which 
men develop through work. We develop strength in our 
arms, not by resting our arms, but by using them. We 
develop our lungs and other organs, not by using them 
gently, but by using them intensely. One best acquires 
good health by considering his body as a storage battery, 
keeping in mind that he will get out of it in health and 
enjoyment an equivalent to what he puts into it in good 
food, fresh air, and other fundamental requirements. 

Another illustration is in connection with the soil. A 
good crop is simply a reaction from expended effort. The 
farmer gets products out of his soil in proportion to the 
nourishment and care he gives to the soil. Only recently 
has it been recognized in a scientific way that the Law of 
Equal Reaction applies very directly to production. Mod- 
ern agricultural developments, however, are founded 
upon this principle. 

The law of supply and demand, of service and reward, 
and other economic teachings are based on this principle 
of equal reaction. The reason why most men are unsuc- 
cessful is that they ignore this law and want to get their 
reward first and do their work afterward. Hence, they 



NATURAL LAW UNDERLIES JESUS' TEACHINGS 55 

will take no risk and will do no more than they are paid 
to do. The successful man recognizes this law and does 
•something first, trusting to the law for his reward. 

Jesus' parable of the pounds told in St. Luke, the 19th 
chapter, verses 11 to 27, inclusive, is based upon this law 
of equal reaction. This parable is worthy of most careful 
study. It is one of Jesus' talks which is very displeasing 
to the communistic socialists who try to connect their 
doctrines with the teachings of Jesus. Every honest busi- 
ness man should be encouraged by reading this parable. 

MENTAL REACTIONS 

A third group of reactions relates more to mental and 
spiritual power. We have always known that example 
is more powerful than precept. It is an old saying that 
"actions speak louder than words." Only recently, how- 
ever, has the economic basis for this been considered. 
The reason is found in this Law of Equal Reaction. We 
say things to our children and we wonder why our words 
"go in at one ear and out at the other." The only thing 
actually accomplished by saying things to others is to 
cause others to say things to us. If we really want chil- 
dren to do a certain thing, such as to be industrious, 
honest, or clean, the way to accomplish it is for us to do 
that thing ourselves and. set them a right example. The 
reaction then will be for them to do likewise. Any reader 
who has doubts as to what can be accomplished in this 
way should study how a mother animal teaches her 
young. She cannot say a word to them, but accomplishes 
wonderful results. 

The good features of New Thought and other psychic 
movements are based on this natural law. Many believe 



56 



RELIGION AND BUSINESS 



B m 



that thought waves are transmitted as are sound waves, 
light waves, and electricity waves. As what we see is 
simply a reaction of the sunlight on an image, so what 
others think may te largely a reaction of our thoughts. 
Of course, this opens a most wonderful line of study, 
offering as it does a scientific basis for loving our ene- 
mies, praying for those who despitefully use us, and for 
our mental attitude to the world in general. It is very 
possible that experiments can demonstrate that these 
teachings of Jesus were not altruistic, but disclose great 
economic possibilities. Once the writer supposed that 
**loving our enemies" was simply a duty and hence a 
sacrifice; but recent experiments suggest that this is the 
only practical way of v/inning and conquering them. 
This means that Jesus was a practical psychologist and 
that the church has a scientific basis for religion. 

Reactions may also be classified in a different way and 
according tO' a different method of subdivision. Instead 
of dividing the reactions according to their workings, 
we will now divide them according to the class of people 
through whom they v/ork. 



GROUP REACTIONS 

Political revolutions are simply natural reactions from 
oppression. This applies to great national revolutions 
and also to common labor strikes. All international wars 
which have really accomplished anything are likewise 
only reactions from unnatural conditions. 

Industrial booms and industrial panics are reactions 
from abnormal business or financial conditions. A period 
of prosperity is simply a reaction from the industry, 
economy, and even righteousness developed during a 



NATURAL LAW UNDERLIES JESUS^ TEACHINGS 57 

period of business depression. A panic is simply a reac- 
tion from the corruption, inefficiency, and extravagance 
which develops during the latter part of a period of pros- 
perity. 

A most intimate relationship exists between business 
and religion. Future business conditions can be foretold 
with wonderful accuracy by a study of the religious con- 
ditions of the time. Religion is both the anchor and 
rudder of prosperity. 

As there are thousands of little currents working in' 
the ocean, while the tide may be flowing one way or the -J 

other. There are groups within groups in the tide of 
human relations. There is always a reaction from any 
legislation which is unjust to any class. When any group 
of people misuses its power or abuses its opportunities, 
there always is a reaction. It is impossible for a member 
of a group to harm or benefit the group without a harm- 
ful or beneficial reaction within himself. *'We are all in 
the same boat," is an old saying. This is merely a popu- 
lar way of referring tO' this great Law of Equal Reaction. 

The rise and fall of families, corporations, and socie- 
ties constantly illustrates the working of this law. The 
misfortunes of certain great railroad systems, for 
instance, are due to the fact that those corporations 
overreached and abused their power. Reactions were 
inevitable. After the development of the * 'trust/" 
corporations lost their souls. The natural result was the 
anti-corporation legislation and the inevitable rise of the 
masses to influence and power. It was only natural that 
the pendulum should swing the other way, and labor 
acquire greater influence in consequence. If, however, 
labor abuses its power, it will in turn inevitably suffer in 
accordance with this Law of Equal Reaction. The fact 



BS RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

that periods of municipal reform so constantly alternate 
with years of municipal corruption illustrates group 
reactions. 



INDIVIDUAL REACTIONS 

Meanness reacts as meanness and kindness reacts as 
kindness. These are illustrations of individual reactions. 
If we boost others, they will boost us; while if we knock 
others, they will knock us. If we gossip about others, 
they will gossip about us; while if we look for the good 
things in others, they will look for the good things in us. 
All these things are in accordance with this Law of Equal 
(! Reaction and the teachings of the church. 

Under this heading, moreover, there are great eccH 
nomic possibilities. For instance, many believe that the 
power of a great leader is due to his conscious or uncon- 
scious use of this Law of Equal Reaction. We know that 
some employers are able to get very much better results 
out of their workers than are other employers. We say 
that some men have great executive ability and other 
men have none. Do we stop to analyze what this execu- 
tive ability is ? Psychology suggests that it is the use of 
the power of securing reactions. 

Certainly Jesus continually urged upon His followers 
the importance of Service. He never urged them to fight 
for the Kingdom, nor to argue for it. Jesus never seemed 
interested in securing for Himself or His followers polit- 
ical power or position. His main thought was that leader- 
ship and influence come through performing a service to 
others. As we do for others, they will love us and do for 
us in return, was His constant teaching. 

For centuries such words were thought to be imprac- 



NATURAL LAW UNDERLIES JESUS' TEACHINGS 59 

tical; but rcience is now demonstrating that natural law 
underlies all these teachings of Jesus. No longer is the 
*' Sermon on the Mount" a collection of good platitudes 
to be read merely in the churches. It is an explanation of 
a great, fundamental, natural law which determines the 
ultimate success or failure of all business men. 



WHAT SHALL WE DO? 

We have heard of the neighbor who interfered when 
an Irishwoman was being whipped by her husband. We 
remember that the Irishwoman turned on the neighbor 
and started to beat him. We all like to scold our family 
and yet we stand up for them when others criticize. 

We are used to these common occurrences; but they 
are not mere accidents. Careful investigation shows that 
they are clearly in accordance with this Law of Equal 
Reaction. Hence keen business men will recognize and 
use this great law. It has wonderful power. Psycholog- 
ically, we are to-day in the Stone Age. In the use of 
thought waves, we are where the electrical world was a 
hundred years ago. Electricity always was a latent 
power, but has only recently been used. Even today, the 
greatest experts know practically nothing of its origin or 
make-up. During the next decade similar progress will 
be made through spiritual development under the leader- 
ship of the church. 

Are you not well ? Do you want better health ? Study 
the teachings of Jesus and the great latent power of 
spiritual healing. Such healing is based upon natural law. 

Are you having trouble with your children? Do you 
wish to have greater influence over them? Study the 
teachings of Jesus and the great possibilities of accom- 



niiiij' 

11'' 
11 

M 

Anil 

.1 



!t 



60 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

plishing results through example. Such methods are 
based upon the oldest of natural law. 

Perhaps you are in business and are having* misfor- 
tunes. You are caught unawares by changes in prices and 
general conditions. If so, I urge you business men to 
study the teachings of Jesus and the relations existing 
between business conditions and religious emotions. 
Such relations are based upon the oldest of natural law. 

Perhaps you are an executive in the employ of others 
and wonder why you have not the influence with those 
under you that some other executive has. If so, I beg you 
to study the teachings of Jesus and learn how He taught 
leadership to His disciples. I refer to the leadership 
|i through service, which is based, not on theology, but on 

natural law. 

Perhaps you are but a salesman and wonder why it is 
that some men can sell so successfully and you cannot. 
I appeal to you also to study the teachings of religion, 
which hold the key to success and which key you can 
have for the asking. 

In conclusion, let me summarize as follows : 

By the reaction of the earth, structures are kept in posi- 
tion; while by the reaction of the water, ships are caused 
to float. By the reaction of wave motion, light, heat, and 
sound speed on their way. By the same action and reac- 
tions the planets are held in position. By the reactions of 
chemistry we live, move, and have our being. By the 
reaction of springs, levers, and other mechanical move- 
ments, all machinery operates. The basis of mechanics 
is the law of action and reaction, upon which Jesus' teach- 
ings are founded. 

Take the next step from the physical to the mental. 
Why do such traits as imagination, initiative, concentra- 
tion, and determination lead people to success? The rea- 






NATURAL LAW UNDERLIES JESUS^ TEACHINGS 61 

son is that these forces react by developing* similar traits 
in other people. This is the basis of leadership, and this 
explains the terrific power of example. Crowds of men 
can be made to do almost anything by leaders who under- 
stand the teachings of religion. The captain of industry 
uses his enthusiasm to- create great enterprises, as the 
workman uses his lever to move heavy loads; but both 
rely upon the same natural law. 

One step more takes us to economics and business. 
Selling is the reaction from buying, interest is the reac- 
tion from serving, profit is the reaction from semce, and 
loss is the reaction from trying to get something for noth' 
ing. Prices, wages, and business in general have a cer- 
tain normal line of development. For all that they go 
above this normal line, there is always an equal reaction. 
Panics are but reactions from abnormal business booms. 

Faith in God is effective because of its reaction. Love 
toward our fellow men is powerful because the reaction is 
that they then love us. Jesus always held out an incentive 
for us to give, forgive, and trust. This incentive was 
based on the great law, *'With what measure ye mete, it 
shall be measured unto you." 

Of all undeveloped resources, human souls and minds 
offer the greatest possibilities. Business men are at last 
realizing that industry is more than mere machinery and 
that prosperity really awaits the development and organ- 
ization of human beings. Before this will be done, how- 
ever, our children must be taught that Jesus' Law of 
'Equal Reaction governs human relations as if does all 
physical, mental, economic, and spiritual forces. I g(:^ 
farther and say that only as this law is taught will our 
industrial, political, and international problems be solved; 
at least this is what statistics have taught me. 



1l 



CHAPTER VI 

TRAINING OUR CHILDREN IN RELIGION 

I once knew a college professor who taught, among' 
other things, Sir Isaac Newton's Law of Equal Reac- 
tion.* His regular lectures treated only of its relation tc? 
mechanics. During these lectures he would show various 
applications of the law to levers, pulleys, and springs. 
He explained to the boys that the shooting force of a 
spring gun was equal to the force used in pressing the 
spring down, and that this same principle of equal reac- 
tion underlies chemistry, astronomy, economics, and all 



4 

i- the other sciences. 



The professor had a son Jack and he brought up Jack 
in what the neighbors thought was a very peculiar way. 
He never whipped Jack, and very seldom punished him. 
The professor would say to his friends : 

"It is not punishment which children need so much as 
explanations. Troubles come from our being too busy to 
explain things to our children as we should. As a make- 
shift, we punish them. Besides, no one punishes me when 
I do wrong; why should I punish Jack?'* 

"That's all very well," replied one of his neighbors, 
"but you are punished naturally when you do wrong. If 
you harm others, it reacts to your own harm. If you are 

* The Law of Equal Reaction is that for every act, word, or 
thought there is a reaction which is equal to and of the same 
character as the act itself. Thus this action is helpful or 
harmful to the person from whom it goes forth according to 
whether it is helpful or harmful to others. 

62 






TRAINING OUR CHILDREN IN RELIGION 63 

unkind to others, it hurts you. You get your punishment 
naturally; you do not need any other." 

"That's the very point," answered the professor. 
"Then why does my boy need any other? He gets a 
natural punishment the same as I do. The same laws 
of nature apply to him as to me. Why should he be pun- 
ished twice when I am punished only once?" 

"Because your boy does not understand that these? 
natural punishments come from wrong doing," returned 
the neighbor. "Certainly we cannot take the time to ex- 
plain to our children all about the working of divine 
laws." 

You have hit the nail on the head," said the professor. 
The reason why most children are not more religious is 
because most parents don't take time to explain. It is 
easier to scold, threaten, and punish than it is to explain. 
So, instead of helping matters, most parents, by their 
punishments, only make matters worse. Besides, if there 
is a natural reaction from every wrong, then there must 
be one from the artificial and secondary punishments 
which we give. Of course there are exceptions," he con- 
tinued. "About ten per cent, of our children are sub- 
normal. Artificial punishments may be necessary at times 
for such, just as in the case of animals which cannot 
understand explanations. Also, children cannot under- 
stand or reason before a certain age. Hence, explana- 
tions to such as these are not effective. With ninety per 
cent, of our children the best results could be secured 
with more sound religious instruction and less artificial 
punishment." 

TRAINING CHILDREN 

The neighbor also had a son. His name was Harry. 
He had been brought up, as his father said, in the "good 



I 



% 



64 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

old-fashioned way." This old-fashioned way perhaps 
worked well under old-fashioned conditions, when there 
v/ere cows to milk, wood boxes to fill, and other chores 
to do. But to-day, conditions are entirely different. There 
must be new methods of discipline to meet these new con- 
ditions. Many parents, recognizing this, have given up 
the old methods, but have not adopted a sound and better 
method. They have stopped whipping, but have not yet 
begun to explain. So the majority of our young people 
are to-day getting little or no training in these fundamen- 
tals of life. This is a very serious problem which the 
church should at once recognize and solve. 

Jack and Harry were together considerably throughout 
their school life. Both were good boys. Neither gave 
\ much trouble to his parents. Yet they were being brought 

up under entirely different plans. The professor never 
told Jack that he "must'' do this, or "must not" do that. 
The professor would advise Jack to do or not to do a 
certain thing, explaining to him about the reaction which 
would come to him from such an act, but this was as far 
as he would go. 

Harry's father, on the other hand, made definite rules 
for his boy to follow. He was very insistent that Harry 
should obey. If Harry asked the reason or endeavored to 
argue, his father would call him impudent. Harry's 
father never tried to develop his boy's reasoning powers' 
about religion and the church. He really did not want 
Harry to reason, but rather to obey. This was the "good 
old-fashioned" principle of bringing up children. It was 
entirely different from the professor's way of simply 
talking to his boy Jack about true religion and nature's 
great Law of Equal Reaction, helping him to apply this 
in all cases and to decide for himself what to do. 

Finally, both boys finished school and went to work In 



TRAINING OUR CHILDREN IN RELIGION 65 

a big department store in a great Western city. Then the 
effects of the two different ways of training clearly 
showed. Both boys left home with practically the same 
education and good health. So far as any one could see, 
they both started the race of life with equal advantages. 
If either had an advantage, it was Harry, who had con- 
siderable natural talent. He led his class at graduation, 
while the professor's son, Jack, got only average marks. 
From the day when both commenced work, however, 
Jack seemed to go right ahead of Harry. A few illustra- 
tions will show this. 

*That boy's w411 must be broken," Harry's father 
would say. So by the time Harry went to the city he had 
little self-control or courage — two very important requi- 
sites for success. His lack of these two qualities showed 
especially in his apparent inability to resist new tempta- 
tions. The old temptations which had beset him at home 
he avoided through habit; but when met by a new one, 
he was lost. His father, when he was at home, had given 
him very little money and never had bothered to explain 
money matters to him. So when he had money to spend, 
he did not know how to spend or how to save it. Harry's 
lack of self-control and courage also show^ed itself in im- 
patience and inability to concentrate or stick to a thing. 

Old-fashioned religious training worked when all 
other forms of training and education w^ere in the stage- 
coach class. But with the advance in secular schools and 
colleges, the youth of to-day demand saner and more effi- 
cient instruction along religious lines. The day of the 
old Sunday school is passing. 

LEADING OTHERS 

The professor had taught Jack to think and reason. 
When very young he had explained to him the senses, 



I 



^^ RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

and how it is that we can smell, hear, and see. Jack 
realized that, in order for one to see an object, it is neces- 
sary that invisible mechanical waves called light come 
through the air, and that the reaction on our brains makes 
us ''see." The professor taught his son that we could 
make other people think what we want them to as well 
'ij CIS to r/iake them smell, hear, and see what we wish to 

have them. It is only a question of knowing how to do it. 
He explained to Jack that spiritual forces are as power- 
ful and practical as mechanical or electrical forces and 
should be understood and used by him. 

The professor had Jack experiment with his playmates 
in making them cross by being cross himself, or in mak- 
; ing them smile by smiling himself. He had Jack notice 
that fear reacts as fear, that courage reacts as courage, 
and that, as the church teaches, ''We reap what we sow." 
This knowledge gave Jack self-reliance, persistence, con- 
fidence, and a real interest in religion. When his new 
acquaintances tried to get him to do wrong and go to bad 
places, instead of giving in as Harry did, Jack would try 
to use his power to see if he could direct them to good 
places. Jack had lots of fun trying his strength of mind. 
He never bothered about resisting their evil efforts, but 
rather used his mind in trying to divert them into good 
channels. 

One day it occurred to Jack that he might use this 
power in selling goods. Selling goods, he concluded, 
meant simply convincing the customer that the goods 
were what he needed. Instead of talking to the customer 
about the goods. Jack talked about the customer's needs. 
He was so successful at this that he was promoted to be 
head of one of the departments of the store. He then used 
these same spiritual powers to secure such a reaction as 



TRAINING OUR CHILDREN IN RELIGION (>7 

he desired from those under him. He accomplished won- 
ders by the spiritual power of example and suggestion. 

He never scolded nor was he ever cross. He knew the 
power of kindness, as well as the influence of example. 
If he wished the clerks to hurry, he would hurry; if he 
wished them to smile, he would smile; and if he wished 
them to work after hours, he simply needed to set the 
example. His father had taught him that, as some people 
arc blind, and as any one can keep from seeing by shutting 
his eyes, so some — either by nature or intent — would not 
react to his spiritual waves. This thought kept Jack from 
being discouraged when he failed to get results. 

Not only did he apply true religion in handling his 
assistants, but also in influencing his employers. He 
wanted them to trust him. So he concluded that the 
simple way to do this was to trust them; since, among 
normal people, loyalty reacts as loyalty, confidence as 
confidence, and trust as trust. It was in this connection 
that his father explained to him the power of faith and 
prayer. Jack not only had faith, but he had a reason for 
the faith that was in him. Many evenings he and his 
father had spent in talking over religious questions. The 
result was that Jack both had a religion and used it. Both 
boys attended church regularly when at home; but Harry 
seemed to fall away when he got to the big city. Jack, 
however, continued regularly to attend worship, and 
always tried to get Harry to go along with him. 

For some reason that Harry could never understand, 
he was seldom promoted and was soon away behind Jack. 
One day, when Harry's father was in the city, he visited 
the store and asked a member of the firm what was the 
matter with his boy Harry. This is what the man replied : 

"Your boy, sir, is obedient and does what he is told — 



/l~i 
1|»: 






68 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

but no more. In order to succeed in this store, a boy must 
do more than he is told to do. Instead of filling only one 
position, he must really fill three jobs. In addition to 
doing his own work well, he must be learning the job of 
the man ahead of him, and must also be teaching some 
other fellow his own job. Your boy seems to lack enter- 
prise, initiative, originality, and those other qualities 
which seem to 'get there.' Harry seems to be honest; but 
he lacks ambition and does not enjoy his work the way 
his friend Jack does. Harry has never yet tasted the joy 
of originating. He acts as if work had been given to him 
when young as a punishment, not as a reward.'' 

*'Well, that is true," replied Harry's father. ''When I 
I (|| wanted to punish Harry, I often gave him work to do. 

Jack's father always told me that this was the wrong 
practise. He often said, 'Two blacks don't make a white. 
Teach your boy to love work like a game. Give him work 
as a reward. Let him strive to control himself as a sport. 
Explain to him that his body is a wonderful machine like 
an aeroplane or a motor car and arouse in him an interest 
to make it do whatever he wants it to do.' But I didn't 
take much stock in such talk." 



SERVICE 

The professor not only taught Jack that we can get 
almost any kind of a thing done through these funda- 
mental religious laws, but that the size of the result is 
directly proportional to the amount of effort which we 
expend. 

"Wages and profits, my boy," Jack's father used to 
say, "are simply the reaction from service. I shall never 
make you work; but I shall continually explain to you 



TRAINING OUR CHILDREN IN RELIGION 69 

that what you get out of life will be exactly proportional 
to what you put into it. We can get richer, in the long 
run, only by producing more. The men who devise new 
means of production and distribution are those who be- 
come great business men. Jesus stated a great truth in 
His Tarable of the Talents.' " 

It was with this idea in mind that Jack worked up in 
that great department store. He never needed to be told 
to do anything, but was always looking for something to 
do. He was never late, but was usually at the store long 
before opening time. The big store was Jack's play- 
ground. He loved the crowds that surged in and out and 
it was great sport for him to experiment with them to get 
them to react in different ways in accordance with his 
wishes. 

Jack was always able to meet any new condition with 
his religion. He was not dependent on any rules or prece- 
dents. When a question arose as to whether or not he 
should do a certain thing. Jack would simply ask himself 
how it would affect other people. If it would, in the long 
run, enable more people to enjoy his goods, or if it would 
enable his customers to have better goods for the same 
money, then Jack would do it, knowing that the firm 
would in some way get a beneficial reaction. On the 
other hand, if he felt that the customers would not be 
benefited by some move, then he knew the firm would 
not, in the end, and he would not do it. 

Jack felt very grateful to his father for teaching him 
this great principle which Jesus gave the world. It was so 
simple to decide things by it. "Will it, in the long run, 
benefit the customers and the firm?" he would continu- 
ally ask himself; and the answer to this simple question 
would determine his action. He knew that if the act 



« 



a 



70 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

would be good for the customers and the firm, it would 
react favorably to him and all the other employes who 
helped out in it. • 

But while Jack was promoted continually, Harry was 
not. Harry's honesty had got him from behind a counter 
into the accounting department, but he seemed unable to 
get farther. He seemed like a watch without a spring. 
He lacked that "something" which makes men win. Thus 
things went on for several years. 

FORESIGHT 

One day, when Jack was at home on a vacation, his 
father gave him a book to read. He felt that the time had 
come when Jack should prepare for becoming a partner 
in the concern. 

^'Remember what I have always told you," said the 
professor, as they sat together one evening. *'Your pro- 
motion depends upon three things : first, doing your pres- 
ent job better than any one else is doing the same kind of 
work; secondly, training some one else beneath you to 
fill it; and, thirdly, preparing yourself for the job above 
you. You are now at the head of the largest department 
in the store. In order to be promoted farther, you must 
be given an interest in the concern. This would make 
you one of the partners." 

"But what do I need as a partner more than as a de- 
partment head ?" asked Jack. "I have got along thus far 
by simply applying these fundamental teachings of Jesus 
about which you used to talk so much. This has helped 
me to develop my body into a strong and effective ma- 
chine; to acquire self-control and those things which 
follow, such as courage, patience, thrift, perseverance, 



TRAINING OUR CHILDREN IN RELIGION ^1 

and the like. This has given me the enterprise to accom- 
plish what I have, knowing that my prosperity and hap- 
piness are only a reaction from that which I help others 
to acquire. What more do I need to know ?" 

*'Well, Jack, for all you have done, you are still an 
employe. You have never had the big questions of policy 
to decide. To decide these wisely, you must have fore- 
sight. When in school you studied two classes of sub- 
jects. The ^Three R's,' as they are called, made up the 
first class, while history, economics, and certain sciences 
made up the second class. The first class of subjects are 
taught for necessary reasons; but the second class are 
taught mainly tO' enable people to forecast the future. 
People able to do this are said to have common sense and 
good judgment. You learn from history and the sciences 
what results certain conditions have brought about in the 
past. This knowledge, and Jesus' teachings, enable one 
to forecast what results similar conditions will bring 
about in the future, or to know what to do in order to 
bring about certain results in the future.'^ 

"If I work hard and give good service, isn't that suffi- 
cient?" asked Jack. 

'*No, my son, I am sorry to say that hard work and 
faithful service are not enough. There are a great many 
people in the world who are as earnest and faithful as 
yourself. Many of them alsO' have that enterprise, imag- 
ination, and originality which are so necessary to success. 
They make good employes, but they always remain em- 
ployes. If they start in business for themselves, they fail. 
The reason is that they lack the ability to see ahead. They 
may know what to do, but not when to do it. They lack 
foresight, which is the great thing needed to succeed in 
business for one's self. You may have health, self-con- 



I 



72 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

trol, and an earnest desire to be useful; but without fore- 
sight you will never make much further progress. On 
the other hand, I know men who possess foresight with 
almost none of these other qualities, and they make a 
great success in business." 

It is now twenty years since the two boys left a little 
Iowa town and went to Chicago. Both boys are married 
and have homes. Harry is an ordinary family man, work- 
ing long hours, struggling to make both ends meet, in 
poor health, and seldom happy. Jack is a partner of the 
big store for which he first went to work as errand boy. 
He is a power for good in that great city. He has health, 
happiness, and independence. He is a success. 

What are you doing to interest your boy in these great 
religious truths? Are you treating him as Jack was 
treated, or are you following the example of Harry's 
'father ? 

TRULY HELPING OTHERS 

.Many persons come to me for help in a business way. 
They ask for advice as to how to get a position or how 
to get their children employment. These people are earn- 
est and my sympathy naturally goes out toward them, 
rrhey are willing to work and it seems a pity that they 
cannot get work which will enable them to live com- 
fortably and happily. 

In practically all such cases, however, my judgment 
tells me that it is not sympathy they need, but rather 
religion. Whenever I have occasion to have any busi- 
ness dealings with one of these unfortunate people, I 
always see the reason why they are not succeeding. They 
lack religion. There is a reason in themselves for the 



TRAINING OUR CHILDREN IN RELIGION 73 

present condition of all such unfortunate people. Yet 
when attempting to show them this difficulty with them- 
selves, I am often misunderstood. People want sympa- 
thy, but they don't want advice, even if they ask for it. 

With all the»churches and their various forms of work, 
one wonders why more attention has not been directed 
toward this end. There are many people who need 
merely more religion in order to succeed. Instead of talk- 
ing about the ''rights" of the workers, and of the various 
things to which all people are "entitled," surely the poor 
themselves would be infinitely better off if taught another 
doctrine. What helps me most is to keep continually in 
mind that I shall get what I deserve, no more and no 
less, as the Parable of the Talents describes. When things 
go wrong, this helps me to hunt for the cause and correct 
the difficulty. When I am starting a new work, this 
encourages me to know that if I render good service the 
result is sure to be profitable. Shouldn't religion be 
taught in this way to> all our young people at home and 
at school? Shouldn't we frankly tell people who are un- 
successful that they lack religion? Such a charity would 
not be popular but it certainly would be effective. You 
never have business relations with one of these unsuc- 
cessful people but you usually see that lack of religion 
is the reason why they are out of a job or are not getting 
on better. Of course one great difficulty is that we as 
parents and teachers are not up to the standard ourselves. 

PARENT, KNOW THYSELF 

A list of thirty-one questions compiled by Sophie C. 
Becker, supervisor of primary grades, and designed to 
test the efficiency of public-school teachers and parents, 



w 



74 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

was sent to the schools of Buffalo. The copies distributed 
were headed ''Suggestions for Efficiency." They contain 
most valuable suggestions for every reader. Here are 
the questions : 

Do you like your work ? 
Have you learned the best way of doing it ? 
Do you enjoy the presence of little children? 
Do you enjoy art, literature, and music? 
Does your highest ambition include some real service 
to humanity? 

Do you work harder than any one else in the business ? 
I Have you learned to plan your day ahead ? 

I Are you tactful, courteous, and pleasant? 

i Can you be optimistic under all circumstances ? 

^: Have you a fixed goal in line with your supreme 

p talent? 

i Do you know where your greatest power Ties? 

I Do you believe in your own future ? 

Do you realize which of your habits, thoughts, emo- 
tions make you inefficient? 

Are you informed on personal efficiency? 
Have you secured the best advisers and associates? 
Do you wish your rivals well and never speak ill of 
them ? 

Are you in perfect physical health? 
Have you learned how to get well and keep well ? 
Have you made an inventory of your mental and 
moral traits? 

Are you correcting your known weaknesses — omental, 
moral, financial, social, spiritual? 

Have you discovered which foods, baths, and exer- 
cises increase your energy and heighten your mentality? 



TRAINING OUR CHILDREN IN RELIGION 75 

Do yoti breathe deeply and hold an erect position? 

Is your sleep long, dreamless, and refreshing, with your 
room perfectly ventilated? 

Is all your clothing made loose to allow blood and 
nerves free play? 

Do you drink three pints of water daily? 

Do you eat slowly, moderately, regularly? 

Do you wear comfortable shoes ? 

Can you relax entirely in your leisure hours? 

Can you keep a calm, unprejudiced mind? 

Do you save money systematically? 

Have you enough love in your life to keep you steady, 
cheerful, and useful? •] 



i 



CHAPTER VII 

•HE GREATEST OF UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES FAITH 

Psychology is both the oldest and newest of the sci- 
ences. Jesus was a great psycholog-ist ; all the prophets 
before Him were great psychologists. The teachings of 
Jesus are based on the soundest psychological principles. 
The great strength of the early Christians was due to 
their knowledge and use of these principles. The story 
of their work is told in the New Testament, and is con- 
firmed by many other authorities. 

After the Christian church was absorbed bv the Roman 
Empire, it became prosperous and strong politically. As 
it increased in popularity and political strength, it lost its 
spiritual power. The use of this power became almost a 
lost art for many centuries. Now and then somiC monk or 
leader would rise who had the vision, or the Holy Spirit 
as it was called, but such were very exceptional. The 
church went through various reformations when its 
spiritual power would for a while become more potent; 
but it would soon fall back into material ways. The 
history of the church has been a constant fluctuation 
between persecution and prosperity. 

During a period of persecution the Holy Spirit would 
descend upon the people and they would become very 
powerful. This strength inevitably led to prosperity ; but 
with the advent of this prosperity, the Holy Spirit seemed 
to leave the people and they became absorbed in worldly 
matters again, During the nineteenth century the church 



1^ 



6 



THE GREATEST OF UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES FAITH 77 

was especially interested in material things. This was 
the great century of advancement in sciences, transporta- 
tion, and industry. The development of water powers, 
the steam engine, electricity, and finally the automobile 
has directed the attention of the people from the unseen 
to the material. As in similar previous periods, the 
church lost its spiritual power, to a great degree, during 
this century. This was only natural. When we focus 
our attention on material things, we depend on such 
things and there is no opportunity for spiritual growth. 
When material things fade away, we depend on spiritual 
things, and with such dependence our lives become 
stronger spiritually. Then we have the spiritual powers, 
to which early leaders referred as the Holy Ghost or 
Holy Spirit. 

RELATION BETWEEN MIND AND BODY 

During the first and second centuries, the Christians 
clearly understood the relation of the mind to the body. 
They cured diseases, they cast out evil spirits, and per- 
formed many other so-called miracles. During later cen- 
turies, however, this part of their work became neglected 
and was discredited. Whatever we may think about the 
Christian Science movement, we must give it the credit 
for again directing the world's attention to the relation- 
ship of the spirit and mind to the body. It doubtless is 
true that Mrs. Eddy obtained her ideas from early writers, 
and that the movement has been greatly aided by the 
scientific work of WilHam James and other psychologists. 
The Christian Science leaders, however, have popular- 
ized the movement and, notwithstanding any errors or 
unfounded claims, have performed a great service. 



' \ 



78 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

"All mental states, no matter what their character as 
regards utility, are followed by bodily activity of some 
sort." Upon this foundation William James developed his 
studies and around this statement have the great move- 
ments been grouped. This law simply means that all our 
thoughts and emotions have a very direct effect on our 
body-building and upon all our bodily functions and 
powers. This means that not only our health, but also 
our happiness and prosperity are affected by our thoughts. 
The reformation that this has caused in medical treat- 
ment is too well known to need discussion here. Our in- 
terest is rather in future development whereby faith, 
prayer, and meditation shall become great factors in the 
upbuilding of civilization and the prosperity of nations, 
groups, and individuals. 

We all remember the days when doctors used to fill 
their patients with horrible black medicines and pills of 
all sizes and colors, and various other concoctions. When 
one thinks of the money wasted and the misery caused 
during the years of such practise, it makes one shudder. 
For generations, the sick and suffering have actually paid 
physicians for hastening their death. Now this is all 
changed. Very little medicine is being given by the best 
physicians. Your case is either one for the surgeon or 
else one which you yourself must cure through different 
living and different thinking. 

The great physicians of to-day recognize that most of 
the common ills, such as rheumatism, indigestion, kidney 
ailments, nervous exhaustion, etc., are the results of over- 
work, worry, fear, gossip, avarice, ill will, jealousy, anger, 
or hatred. They realize that these things destroy the 
body and bring on ill health, unhappiness, and misfor- 
tune. It is known to-day that good health is secured and 



THE GREATEST OF UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES FAITH 79 

retained only through the development of those religioais 
characteristics of faith, hope, courage, joy, good w^ill, 
sympathy, affection, and generosity. 

This is called by some people ''New Thought," but it 
is thought that is two thousand years old and was the 
basis of the teachings of Jesus and His disciples. They 
knew and taught that the mind can act and always does 
act either to develop disease or to develop health. When 
they urged people to have faith and hope, good will and 
sympathy, they knew that only through the development 
of these qualities could people be healthy, happy, and 
prosperous. They did not urge people to develop these 
qualities for any dogmatic reason; but because health, 
happiness, and prosperity could not be secured in any 
other way. When these leaders condemned avarice, 
worry, jealousy, and anger, they did so because they 
knew that these things are destructive to the body, mind, 
and spirit. Jesus and His disciples realized that the vir- 
tues — still known as the religious virtues — tend to de- 
velop and strengthen the body; while those actions and 
feelings which they condemned — still known as sins — 
slowly poison the body, lower its resisting power, and act 
like a corroding acid. 

Every feeling or emotion of a disagreeable nature pro- 
duces poison in our bodies; while true and agreeable 
emotions generate nutritious compounds which make us 
stronger and more efficient. Scores of illustrations of 
this fact could be given. Every one knows how bad news 
will give one headache or nausea; while good news will 
inspire us and give us added energy. If this is so in 
little things, it is so in everything. Every thought and 
act of ours during the day affects our health, happiness, 
and prosperity. Getting cross generates poison in our 



80 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

systems which weakens us; while good thoughts develop 
compounds which build us up body and soul. 



WHAT MEN WANT 

Business men may be surprised at a statistician devot- 
ing a chapter to this phase of religion. The temptation 
naturally is to present religion only as the founder and 
protector of life, liberty, and happiness. This statement 
is true, and as a business man I gladly testify that all we 
have to-day which is worth while we owe to religion. 

In order, however, for religion to appeal to the 
manufacturer, merchant, and banker, it must provide 
something more than material protection or prosperity. 
What men have, does not interest them. The church has 
lost rather than gained by its interest in wealth and 
if numbers. The church can never compete with the 

manufacturer in producing goods nor with the banker in 
financing loans. 

Business men desire spiritual help from religion. It 
is spiritual power for which they really hunger. The 
great opportunity before the church is in the develop- 
ment of such spiritual power. The greatest of unde- 
veloped resources is faith; the greatest of unused power 
is prayer; the business men of the nation are waiting 
for the church to open to them these resources and 
powers, 

BREADTH AND VISION 

The relation of body and spirit is very much broader 
than the mere question of physical ills. Let me again refer 






THE GREATEST OF UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES FAITH 81 

to Jesus' two great commands : First, that we love God 
with all our hearts so as to conform to His laws; and, 
second, that we love our neighbors as ourselves. Both of 
these commands are very clearly interwoven with spirit- 
ual and psychic development. Both are closely bound 
with the great law of action and reaction. Jesus urged 
His followers to love their neighbors as themselves be- 
cause the health, happiness, and prosperity of each de- 
pended on the health, happiness, and prosperity of the 
group. There was, however, another reason. Jesus knew 
that the self-centered man could not be healthy and happy 
any more than he could be prosperous in the long run. 
To have good health, one must have a broad, expansive 
mind; one must be interested in the health of the whole 
world. Jealousy, envy, gossip, fault-finding have a dwarf- 
ing influence and ultimately lead to ill health, unhappi- 
ness, and poverty. 

People who are really interested in their neighbors and 
the wide world in general, develop physically, mentally, 
and spiritually. Not only do the mind and body act and 
react the one on the other, but individuals act and react 
one on another. One gloomy, despondent person can 
come into a happy group and throw gloom over the 
entire room; while one happy person can come into a 
gloomy group and fill the whole room with sunshine. 
This, which applies to a small group in a room, or to a 
family, applies to a community or nation. Jesus recog- 
nized these facts and preached them two thousand years 
ago. For a century or two they were taken seriously and 
the church greatly prospered thereby. During later cen- 
turies, however, we have become so engrossed in material 
things that we have forgotten the great spiritual power 



82 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

to which we owe so much. Steam, electricity, and other 
powers have taken the place of the Holy Spirit, the 
greatest of all powers. 



SPIRITUAL REVIVAL NEEDED 

Is not this neg-lect of spiritual power the real difficulty 
with the church to-day ? Pe(?ple are not getting from the 
church the help that they are getting from other institu- 
tions. When something is the matter with us physically, 
we go to a physician and get help ; we are glad to pay him 
for relief. When we are despondent, we go to a theater 
and get cheered up; we don't begrudge the two dollars 
that we pay for a ticket. We feel that both the doctor 
and the actor have earned the money. But v/e look upon 
the money which we pay to the church as "given away"; 
that is, we feel that we get nothing in return. Why is 
this ? The reason is that the church has lost it& ibility to 
impart spiritual power to others. 

We must not think that this spiritual power does not 
exist because it is being so little used. Electricity had 
been lying dormant in the world for thousands of years, 
and only recently has it come to be used. Great spiritual 
powers, to which the preacher refers as the Holy Spirit, 
exist in the world even though they are not being utilized. 
The church has prospered when it has helped people spir- 
itually and when it has developed this spiritual power. 
The time is coming when the church will again put forth 
these powers, and then no one will begrudge what he 
spends on his religion. 

This means that those interested in the revival of true 
religion should devote their energies to reviving the spirit- 
ual power of the church instead of trying to awaken 



THE GREATEST OF UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES FAITH 83 

interest in the church before such spiritual power is 
revived. When the church has recovered its faith and its 
ability to use this faith in making* people healthy, happy, 
and prosperous, then people will of themselves seek 
religion and become energized by its spirit. 



PRAYER AND SERVICE 

Jesus simply told people to pray. He gave no scientific 
explanation as to why prayer is so effective. His instruc- 
tions were that we should go quietly by ourselves, relax, 
and concentrate on what we desire. He continually em- 
phasized that if we would do this systematically and rev- 
erently, we would accomplish most wonderful results. 
Various scientific explanations have been given at dif- 
ferent times regarding how prayer works. Some scien- 
tists believe that spiritual waves exist throughout the 
ether as do light waves and sound waves. When we see 
an object, this is what really happens. Light waves strike 
the object, are reflected from the object through the air, 
striking the retina of the eye. Every object has a dif- 
ferent vibration. We really do not see a chair or a table, 
but when light reflects from a chair, we get a different 
feeling on the retina of the eye from what we get when 
the light strikes a table. When we originally got the first 
sensation, we were told it came from a chair, and when 
we got the second sensation, we were told it came from 
a table. We do not "see" either the chair or the table. 
The method of discernment by one who has eyesight is 
really not different mechanically from that by one who is 
blind. The former person "feels" of the table with his 
eyes, while the latter is compelled to use his hands. All 
this means that the commonest acts of life, like hearing, 



84 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

seeing, and smelling, are carried on by invisible waves or 
vibrations. This is perhaps most spectacularly illustrated 
by vi^ireless telegraphy and wireless telephony; but these 
things are not nearly as wonderful as the seeing, hearing, 
and smelling which we use every day. 

Many psychologists believe that there are mental and 
spiritual waves, just as truly as there are light and sound 
waves. These psychologists believe that when we think 
and concentrate we throw out thought waves, and that 
these waves increase in intensity in accordance with our 
ability to concentrate. Many experiments have been tried 
in which a person who is able intensely to concentrate 
can enter a room and make another know just what the 
first is thinking about. This is popularly known as 
thought diffusion. It can be made more powerful if 
helped by the spoken word, and then becomes oratory. 
The power used by the evangelist, the criminal lawyer, 
the political leader, and successful men in general is based 
on this principle. There are other people who have very 
sensitive minds. These people have not the power of con- 
centration and leadership, but have very remarkable 
powers of discernment. Two strong-minded people or 
two sensitive people are unable to read one another's 
minds; but a sensitive person is often able to read the 
mind of one who can concentrate readily. This is com- 
monly known as mind reading. Although such things 
have been very much abused, yet without doubt there are 
great possibilities in telepathy and similar studies. 

The spiritualists carry this idea much farther. They 
believe that it is not only possible for the living to com- 
municate without words, but that it is possible for the 
living and the dead so to communicate. Whether or not 
this is possible, space does not permit us here to discuss, 



TB >£ GREATEST OF UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES FAITH 85 

but only an ignorant man would say that such a thing is 
impossible. This whole question of spiritualism is closely 
woven with the future life and what takes place after 
death. The only reason for mentioning the matter here 
is that it involves the question of communion with God, 
commonly known as prayer. 

PRAYER A GREAT FORCE 

Whether or not scientists have as yet a knowledge of 
prayer, it nevertheless is a great and powerful force. 
Electricity is still unknown so far as its origin or make- 
up is concerned. We simply know that doing certain 
things develops a certain invisible power known as elec- 
tricity, and that if this invisible power is connected with 
machines made in a certain way, these machines will 
revolve. We also know that this same electricity can be 
used for producing light and heat. But where electricity 
comes from, of what it consists, or how it is transmitted, 
no one knows. Yet we use electricity and it will soon be 
the basis of our new civilization. 

We know just as much about prayer as we know about 
electricity. We know that by relaxing and concentrating 
we can, in the quiet of our own rooms, secure the most 
wonderful results. Of course the ordinary prayer, such 
as the preacher offers in church or the child recites morn- 
ing and evening, is little more than a form. The prayers 
of our churches bear the same relation to the power that 
religion offers as an electric toy bears to the great cen- 
tral generating plant at Niagara Falls. It is not my pur- 
pose to defend the custom of praying as practised to-day. 

Both history and science, however, clearly demonstrate 
that prayer has great possibilities. Prayer is our con 



86 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

nection witH the Holy Spirit, with the great sources of 
abundant power. The real forces of Hfe are not found 
in material things, but are unseen and spiritual. Jesus 
did not exaggerate at all when He spoke of the faith that 
could move mountains. He was stating a great psycho- 
logical truth when He told His hearers that through faith 
they could secure health, happiness, and prosperity. The 
Holy Spirit is the great source of supply, the invisible, 
formless, but living substance. Man is the motor that 
can use this great invisible power. Prayer is the wire or 
the pipe that connects man with the great source of 
supply. 

As a statistician, without partiality or prejudice, I urge 
all business men to learn more about prayer and its great 
possibilities. The Holy Spirit is the great undeveloped 
resource of religion; while prayer is the means of tap- 
ping this great undeveloped resource. The Holy Spirit 
is the coal mine, and prayer is the transportation system 
which will get the coal to us in order that it may be used. 
The two go together. Each is useless without the other. 
Both together are all powerful. 

THE WORKINGS OF PRAYER 

Prayer is the means by which we get imbued with 
spiritual power. The prayer of faith connects our minds 
with the universal mind and puts us into harmony with 
the greatest of all powers. How does it work? I don't 
know, and no one else knows. Some think that we do 
not pray to a God as such, but that we radiate thoughts 
which affect the lives of others and make them do w^hat 
we would like to have them do. As previously stated, the 
world gives back to us what we give to the world. Hence, 



THE GREATEST OF UNDEVELOPFD RESOURCES FAITH 87 

it would be only natural that thinking healthily would 
make others healthy and the reaction would be to make 
us healthy; that thinking" happiness would make others 
happy and the reaction would be to make us happy; while 
thinking prosperity would make others prosperous, and 
as we make others prosperous, the natural reaction would 
be for us to be prosperous. This would simply mean 
that health, happiness, and prosperity are contagious and 
that we ourselves become healthy, happy, and prosperous 
only as we make others so. The scientific explanation 
of prayer given by some psychologists is that anything 
can be changed in accordance with our desires. There- 
fore, to be healthy, happy, and prosperous requires only 
that we think health, happiness, and prosperity. 

Other psychologists believe that the mind is a mold; 
that the world is full of good and bad thoughts, strong 
and weak thoughts, just as our blood has red corpuscles 
and bad bacteria. Their theory is that the mind is a mold 
and that by thinking we shape the mold for anything that 
we desire to make. If we think on health, we gradually 
shape the mind to catch the health waves; if we think 
on happiness, we gradually shape this mold to develop 
happiness; while if we think prosperity, we develop in our 
brains a mold which will turn out prosperity. 

Without doubt every man is either self-directing or 
easily directed by the suggestions which come from other 
persons and from his environment. Whether a man is 
self-directed or easily directed determines largely whether 
he is successful or unsuccessful. In a previous chapter I 
have treated of the labor problem, with as much sym- 
pathy as possible for the wage worker. The labor prob- 
lem, however, is much more fundamental than appears in 
that chapter. The real difficulty at the bottom of the 



8S RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

labor problem is this fact, that people are by nature either 
self-directed or easily directed. The self-directed men 
are thrifty, original, and enterprising. They naturally 
become employers. They always have and always will. 
Those who are easily influenced by others or by their 
environment naturally remain wage workers. They 
always have stayed in this class and they always will 
remain there. 

The self-directed man will not allow his thoughts to 
be dictated by heredity or by environment any more than 
by the stars or by a horoscope. He directs his thoughts 
and makes his plans into the kind of a mold he wishes. 
The great mass of people, however, allow their destiny 
to be decided by heredity, environment, and soap-box 
oratory. The self-directed man thinks what he wants to 
think and therefore does what he wants to do. So much 
for the scientific explanation of why some succeed and 
others do not. 

The church tells a different story. It believes that the 
successful people are consciously or unconsciously prayer- 
ful people. It believes that if their success is not due 
directly to their own prayers, it is due to the prayers of a 
mother, father, or some friend. Statistics tend to uphold 
the position of the church. Men are successful because 
they are religious rather than religious because they are 
successful. Most men are successful because, consciously 
or unconsciously, they are praying men. 

THE church's opportunity 

It is not the purpose of this book to discuss further this 
great spiritual power. My purpose is primarily to testify 
as a business man that I believe in such power. The use of 



THE GREATEST OF Ui«iJEVELOPFD RESOURCES — ^FAITH 89 

faith and prayer, as a means of connecting- with this great 
power, is beyond question. The greatest development 
in years to come will be along spiritual lines. The power 
of electricity is nothing compared with the latent spiritual 
forces which are to-day unused. These are the things that 
Jesus had in mind when He talked to the people two 
thousand years ago about the power of faith. We have 
been led to believe that He spoke figuratively or that He 
talked of powers that He possessed but which could not 
be used by others. 

As surely as there is a God and a man, there is a Holy 
Spirit. The church has the opportunity of developing 
this power and giving it to the world. The great future 
of the church lies in grasping this opportunity. That 
denomination which first grasps the opportunity and pre- 
sents it to the world, in a practical and efficient form, will 
be the church of the future. The church which prays 
most and prays best is the church which will grow most 
rapidly. 

This book, however, is not written in the interests of 
churches. My interest is in the business men who are my 
readers. It is in your own interests that I urge you to 
consider these great spiritual forces. You are spending 
millions in developing water powers, steam-generating 
plants, and electrical stations, but the power that you are 
getting in those ways is not to be compared with the great 
spiritual forces which you could have for the asking. The 
actions of men are determined by their feelings and their 
tastes. 

Our health and our happiness we know to be dependent 
not on things, but on our state of soul. Science is fast 
demonstrating that our prosperity is dependent on our 
ability to influence others, which in turn is dependent oa 



90 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

the thoughts which we absorb and radiate to others. 
Temporary worldly success may come by other means, but 
success which is permanent, which we all really want, can 
come only through the development of the soul. The 
business man knows this even better than does the 
preacher. The hope of the world lies in both business 
man and preacher getting together and utilizing this 
spiritual power of religion. 



CHAPTER VIII 

RELIGION AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 

I ONE day Spent a very interesting morning watching 
James Moore Hickson in connection with his revival of 
spiritual healing. Mr. Hickson had been visiting the lead- 
ing cities of the United States, performing his work in 
some of the largest Episcopal churches of these cities. 
The demonstration which I personally witnessed was at 
Trinity Church, Washington, D. C. 

The scene was most depressing or encouraging accord- 
ing to one's point of view.- For nearly three hours I 
watched a stream of unfortunate people brought up one 
aisle and down another on stretchers, wheel chairs, and 
on the backs of their friends. Mr. Hickson would take a 
group of about twenty of these and talk to them for two 
or three minutes, touch each one separately on the head, 
making a short prayer as he passed from one to the other. 

He was assisted in this work by the leading Episcopal 
clergy of Washington and nurses of character and stand- 
ing. Being neither a clergyman nor a physician, I cannot 
testify as to the character or results of the work; but the 
following is an account of the meeting from the Wash- 
ing Star of April 3, 1920: 

"CURES BY 'HEALER' AT TRINITY CHURCH 

CLAIMED BY MANY 

"Clergy to Continue Work on Lines Adopted by 

James M. Hickson 

"James Moore Hickson, 'the healer,' has gone, but 
from many hearts In Washington to-day there went up a 

91 



92 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

unified pean of praise to God for the help — spiritually 
and physically — that has been bestowed upon the afflicted 
in this city. 

"Testimony to the remarkable cures visited upon scores 
of sufferers continued to pour in to the Trinity Com- 
munity House to-day. But greater than the physical relief 
from pain was the spiritual help manifested through the 
medium of Mr. Hickson. 

"Persons who had not seen the inside of a church for 
years came to scoff — but remained to pray. Clergymen 
of Washington declared to-day that now is the golden 
opportunity for a revival, and indications are that they 
will take full advantage of the opportunity. 

"Mr. Hickson declared there is nothing miraculous in 
divine healing. He said Christ, before His ascension, 
conferred this power upon His disciples, and records 
show hundreds were healed by divines of the apostolic 
church. The church has failed to continue healing, he 
averred, and now is the most propitious time in the his- 
tory of the world to revive it. The clergy of Washing- 
ton, therefore, will probably revive this ancient custom in 
the parish churches. It has been suggested that every 
year a diocesan healing mission be conducted. 

" *We are not going to minister to Episcopalians solely 
any more,' said Rev. D. W. Curran to-day. *This mission 
has demonstrated that spirit of democracy which the 
church should possess. I myself administered the ^laying 
on of hands' to Japanese, Chinese, negroes, and whites. 
Rich and poor mingled with a spirit of brotherly love 
which I consider remarkable.' 

" There were many instantaneous cures, and many 
cures, while not instantaneous, were miraculous, even 
though the sufferers did not feel relief until several hours 



RELIGION AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 93 

after Mr. Hickson had laid his hands on them. I saw 
one woman — her name is Elizabeth Lincoln and she lives 
at 20 1 o 9th Street — carried up the aisle of the church 
by attendants. She could not move hand nor foot. Mr. 
Hickson and the attending clergy laid their hands on the 
woman's head and offered up prayer. The agility with 
which that woman left her chair and walked from the 
building, completely restored to health and strength, was 
the most astonishing sight I ever witnessed. That was 
only one case which came to my attention. There were 
others. There is a complete list of recovered patients 
being compiled, and this list will be made public as soon 
as it is finished.' 

"Rev. D. C. Weedon, vicar of St. Agnes' Chapel, told 
a Star reporter to-day that he had been healed of a bodily 
infirmity shortly after Mr. Hickson had laid his hands on 
him. He said he felt immediate relief, and that he has 
not been troubled since. 

" *Now is the propitious time for the clergy to revive 
the ancient healing powers conferred on the early Chris- 
tian church by our Saviour,' said Mr. Weedon. 'I am 
sure the clergy will take full advantage of the oppor- 
tunity, too.' 

"A man walked into the office of M. O. Chance, post- 
master, to-day, and declared that for years he was crip- 
pled. He visited Mr. Hickson's mission. 
'Can you walk now ?' Mr. Chance asked. 
'Look and you'll see,' said the man, as he demon- 
strated the fact that he could walk as well as any man." 

Whatever the results of the work may be, it certainly 
was carried on in a very conservative and spiritual man- 
ner. It did not in any way smack of commercialism. 
The entire demonstration was most reverent and spiritual. 






•■ I 



94 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

Mr. HIckson seemed an exceedingly modest man, and all 
his helpers were working from only the highest motives. 
Mr. Hickson began by explaining to the audience that 
although instantaneous cures happened now and then, he 
did not expect such. When one of us is months in get- 
ting ill, it is only logical that he should be months in 
recovering. Mr. Hickson's point was that faith and 
obedience to God's lawis could bring about health. He 
insisted that healing was the major part of Jesus' work 
when on earth and that the early church kept up this 
work for many years after Jesus' crucifixion. Certainly 
any one reading the Four Gospels must agree with this 
statement. 

Moreover, Jesus did not confine Himself to physical 
healings. He removed the evil spirits out of men ; He put 
courage into the sick at heart, and He gave of the "water 
i of life" to all who sought it of Him. Jesus' life was one 

'9 constant series of healing body, mind, and spirit. Fur- 

thermore, every evidence available tends to show that He 
expected His disciples to carry on the same work after He 
passed yonder. 

SPIRITUAL-HEALING STATISTICS UNAVAILABLE 

I do not feel competent to discuss the possibilities of 
such healings. As explained in a previous chapter, there 
is a most intimate relationship between mind and matter. 
Moreover, it is probable that the average physician is as 
one-sided in his criticism of these spiritual cures as is the 
average healer too enthusiastic. The facts and statistics 
strongly suggest that the hope of the future lies in both 
the physician and the religious healer meeting on a me- 
dium ground. Some one, when discussing Christian Sci- 



RELIGION AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 95 

ence, sugg-ested that the better day would come when 
the scientist would use more Christianity, and the Chris- 
tian would use more science. This probably expresses the 
situation very well. It should be remembered that at the 
present we are running very strongly in a material direc- 
tion, and without doubt more faith and religion are 
needed rather than more statistics and science. 

I have been unable to secure satisfactory figures by 
which such spiritual healing could be statistically judged. 
Even the best physicians and surgeons are in disagree- 
ment among themselves as to the efficacy of such spiritual 
work. It, however, must be admitted that there is some- 
thing in it and that there is very much more in it than 
most of us are willing to admit. Therefore, all serious 
men and women engaged in such work are entitled to the 
greatest consideration and respect. All such work should 
be encouraged. Those who visualize the latent spiritual 
forces of the community will perform a greater service 
than those who have developed the material forces, how- 
ever great their value has been, 

men's souls vs. men's BODIES 

Business men, however, are not so much interested in 
the spiritual healing of men's bodies as in the spiritual 
healing of men's souls. We all have to die some time. 
After our consuming powers exceed our producing pow- 
ers — using these in their broadest meaning — there is little 
reason for keeping men and women alive. This may seem 
a hard-hearted statement, but no one can gainsay the 
inconsistency of devoting so much energy to prolonging 
life, while neglecting the great subject of propagation and 
conception. Certainly Jesus did not consider long life 



96 RELIGION AND BJSINESS 

necessary for effective work. It also was evident that He 
was much more interested in young people and children 
than He was in those who had passed their usefulness. 

If we were reaching a time when it was becoming diffi- 
cult to bring children into the world, we would be justi- 
fied in putting such extreme emphasis on keeping people 
alive. A statistician, however, cannot help feeling that the 
nation would be much better off if more emphasis was 
put oiQ eugenics and the bringing up of children. Cer- 
tainly it is most inconsistent to see a mother or father go 
to such extreme efforts to keep a child alive, and at the 
same time make no effort to bring more children into the 
world. This is only one more evidence that the world is 
ruled by emotion and sympathy rather than by intellect 
or reason. 

Yet religion is the greatest factor in developing real 
efficiency.. The four qualities of faith, industry, initia- 
tive, and courage which make men efficient are spiritual 
qualities. The Zulu of Africa has as many hours a day as 
does the greatest scientist of America, The Zulu's phys- 
ical strength is even greater than that of the scientist. 
The difference is in the spiritual and mental qualities. 

The greatest possibilities of spiritual reconstruction 
will come along psychological lines, rather than physical 
lines. If man can restore sight to the blind, cure the 
paralytic, and perform similar physical cures by spiritual 
means, then what could we do in restoring courage to the 
disappointed, developing ambition in the down-hearted, 
and imparting energy to the great mass of people who 
now lack it ? This is a feature of religion which has great 
possibilities and one in which every business man should 
be most actively interested. For in such work religion 
holds the key to efficiency and production. 



RELIGION AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 97 

OUR GREATEST UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES 

Without doubt the greatest of undeveloped resources 
are the souls of men. Statistics teach that practically all 
that we have to-day in the form of factories, stores, rail* 
roads, steamships, newspapers, and books is due to the 
enterprise of only two per cent, of the population. This 
suggests what could be accomplished if this two per cent 
could be increased to four per cent,, eight per cent., or 
twelve per cent. If all that we have to-day is the result 
of the faith, enterprise, and courage of only two per cent, 
of the people, we could have twice what we have to-day if 
this two per cent, could be increased to four per cent., or 
four times if this two per cent, could be increased to 
eight per cent. 

Statistics lead me to believe that the faith, industry, 
thrift, and enterprise in people are very largely due to 
religion. The American captains of industry who are ac- 
complishing things to-day are not all churchmen or relig- 
ious men, but it can be shown that they all owe the basis 
of their success to the religion of themselves or others. 
Historians are united in believing that the enterprise of 
America and northern Europe is due to religion and 
climate. As the climate has been the same for thou- 
sands of years, this means that the great constructive 
force has been and is to-day religion. The enterprise, 
industry, and thrift of any country or group of people 
can be measured by the religious faith of the people. 
Where the people are religious, there are found 
enterprise, industry, and thrift. Where the people are 
irreligious, are found indifference, wastefulness, and 
extravagance. 

Yet there has been little effort on the part of the church 
to connect religious work with the development of men 



98 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

along such lines of efficiency. Christian Scientists, the 
New Thought people, and some of the philosophical and 
intellectual sects have made advances in this direction, 
but little has been done by the great religious denomina- 
tions — Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish. Certainly if it is 
possible to make physical cures by spiritual healing, it 
should readily be feasible to arouse the souls of men 
through such means. 

From an industrial standpoint, the soul of man is a 
very much more important factor than is his physical 
body. The real productivity of man depends not so much 
on his physical strength or condition as upon his spiritual 
life. Faith, industry, courage, ambition, imagination, 
thrift, and similar qualities are those which determine 
man's productivity. If these qualities can be developed 
through religion, then religion becomes the greatest latent 
force in the industrial and commercial world to-day. 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox has well expressed this thought 
in the following lines : 

,'♦>;»',. "I gave a beggar from my little store of wealth some gold; 

He spent the shining ore, and came again and yet again, 
',. Still cold and hungry, as before. 

I gave a thought, and through that thought of mine 
J'' He found himself, the man supreme, divine, 

: . Fed, clothed, and crowned with blessing manifold, 

And now he begs no more." 

Certainly Jesus taught His followers that if they would 
become filled with the spirit of service they need not 
w'orry about material things. He continually emphasized 
that if we would observe the laws of God and become 
interested in helping others, we would always have plenty 
to eat, enough to wear, and a place to sleep. Does any 
millionaire have more than this ? Certainly not. It is true 
that Jesus did not give much attention to material things. 






RELIGION AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 99 

He was a carpenter Himself, but He looked upon His 
carpentering in the same light as He looked upon His 
eating or sleeping — something necessary to civilization, 
and merely the means to an end. 

Jesus gave little attention to government, taxation, or 
other such functions. He urged His disciples to conform 
with all of these customs, but to let none of them become 
an end in themselves. Jesus looked upon industry as sim- 
ply the road by which we are to reach our destination. 
He taught that the Kingdom of Heaven is not gained 
through earthly success. Righteousness on earth is the 
one thing to seek, and only as other things hasten thei 
coming of such righteousness are they worth consid- 
eration. 

Jesus devoted His time to fixing the minds of men on 
righteousness — that is, on right relations with God and 
man — being content to say ''if ye do these things, all 
these other things (food, shelter, and raiment) shall be 
added unto you." Statistics show that Jesus' teachings ^ 

were absolutely sound. Men and women who conform to ^'|^ 

the laws of God and strive to be of real service one to 
another automatically become healthy, happy, and pros- 
perous. Ninety-five per cent, of the people who do not 
get along well materially owe their misfortune to lack of 
these religious qualities of faith, industry, courage, imag- 
ination, and thrift. This means that the real great work 
of the church to-day lies in reviving these great produc- 
tive qualities in the souls of the masses. 

While others are performing spiritual healing of bodily 
ills, let those of us who can do so devote some time to 
reviving faith, industry, courage, ambition, imagination, 
and thrift in the hearts of people. The great need for 
healing to-day is not that men recover from physical blind- 




100 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

ness, but that they recover their spiritual sight. The great 
need is to make men see wherein their real interests lie; 
namely, in service. Those of us who can succeed in 
awakening this new interest in others will perform the 
most needed work in the years to come. The greatest 
latent power in the world to-day lies in these dormant 
qualities in the souls of the great masses of people. The 
greatest advance in efficiency and production will come 
when this latent power is awakened. 

This is the thing that Jesus must have had in mind 
when He talked about ''life'* and ''the need of more abun- 
dant life." ''I came that they may have life," He said, 
"and may have it abundantly." This "life" is that "some- 
thing" v/hich makes men healthy, happy, and prosperous. 
This "life" is in every man's soul. It is faith, confidence, 
ambition, and power. Its possession means success, and 
its lack means failure. The man who lacks it says "I 
can't." The man who has it says "I will." 
I Religion is to become the great factor in causing more 
men to say "I will.'* It will be religion which will in- 
crease that two per cent, who now say "I will" to six 
per cent, or eight per cent, or perhaps to fifty or seventy 
per cent. — who knows? Miracles are still possible. 
Think what this would mean to business! Think of the 
great impetus that would be given to invention, produc- 
tion, distribution, and the other economic forces. There 
is no reason why there cannot be a thousand Edisons in- 
stead of one; no reason why there cannot be a hundred 
United States Steel Corporations instead of one; and no 
reason why we cannot all be millionaires. The difficulty 
today is that we are trying to get richer by simply redivid- 
ing what is already produced. We are struggling over 
what already exists, instead of using our energies toward 



RELIGION AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 101 

producing tenfold, fifty fold, and a hundredfold more. 
This will be possible as more men get this spiritual power 
and say ''1 will" instead of '1 can't." 



SOME COMMON QUESTIONS 

Of course there are many questions which such work 
would suggest. Among them are the following : 
(i) Is it the will of God that all His children 
should be healthy, happy, and prosperous ? 

This brings up the question as to whether it is neces- 
sary that there always should be a certain number of 
poor, ignorant, and those compelled to work for others.^ 
Jesus certainly meant for everyone to be healthy, happy,- 
and prosperous. Although organization is necessary, yet 
co-operation is bound to some day take the place of the 
present wage systems. Perhaps there is no need of there 
always being employers and wage workers. So long as 
only a few have that "something" and the great mass of 
people lack it, so long will there be a few employers and 
a great mass of wage workers, but this condition can 
gradually be improved. 

Another question often asked is: 

(2) If these things are possible, why are not all 
people healthy, happy, and prosperous to- 
day? 

God does not give people poverty as a punishment. 
Even pain is sent not as a punishment, but as a warning. 
God does not want His people to suffer in any way. But 
God cannot set aside His laws any more than can an 
honest judge. God's law is that men shall reap as they 
sow; shall be rewarded in accordance with the service 
which they render; and prosper proportionately as they 



102 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

make others prosperous. Of course there are incidents 
which for a while seem to be exceptions to the law; but 
time explains even these. Hence all people can be healthy, 
happy, and prosperous only when all people make their 
one hundred per cent, aim to have all others healthy, 
happy, and prosperous. 

Certainly a loving father would want his children to 
be healthy, happy, and prosperous. The Kingdom of 
Heaven carinot come on earth except as all are healthy, 
happy, and prosperous; hence the most practical way of 
bringing in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth is to bring 
other people into a condition of health, happiness, and 
prosperity. 

PRODUCTION vs. DIVISION 

The thing which bothered Jesus in connection with 
material possessions was that those who came to Him 
were not interested in producing more but rather in a 
redistribution of what was already produced. This was 
especially evident in the instance of the mother who came 
regarding the inheritance of her two sons. He naturally 
rebuked her. A redivision may be needed, but it would 
do very little toward bringing about the Kingdom of 
Heaven on earth. Jesus knew this. Hence He devoted 
His three years of ministry to preaching service rather 
than any "ism." 

We must do our part in this work. As we are respon- 
sible for bringing upon ourselves sickness and poverty, 
we must use our own personal powers to retrace our 
steps and correct the situation, so far as we are able. But 
sickness, disappointment, and poverty are not given to 
people to develop them spiritually. Although these things 



RELIGION AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 103 

are the result of disobeying God's laws, they are not 
needed to develop spirituality. Those who so preach are 
putting forth a pernicious doctrine. 

One thing more — if it is doubtful whether we should 
use spiritual teaching as a means of developing faith, 
courage, ambition, industry, and thrift, it is still more 
doubtful whether we should rely on only secular methods 
to develop these qualities. If our schools, banks, and 
various other established institutions are justified in 
doing this kind of work, certainly the church is justi- 
fied therein. For in the last analysis, our schools and 
colleges are really founded to arouse this latent "life" 
in men and women. If so, certainly the church should 
not be criticized therefor. But our schools and colleges 
have failed, because they have made it an intellectual mat- 
ter, instead of a spiritual. 

From a statistical standpoint, education to-day is a 
colossal failure in that it awakens the soul in less than 
five per cent, of its students. The reason is that we are 
trying to operate our schools without religion. In some 
states it is even criminal for a school superintendent to 
ask a prospective teacher what her religion is or even if 
she has any. The school of the future will take for its 
main task the arousing of the souls of its students, rating 
as secondary the mathematics, sciences, and foreign lan- 
guages now thought to be so important. 

Industry, science, commerce, agriculture, invention, the 
arts and cultures all await the development of this power 
of the inner man — the "fuel of the soul machine, the one 
thing necessary." At birth, we all are more or less alike; ^ C 
we come into the world all animals of a certain type. All ^r 

of us have the same senses and live more or less like 
animals, from hand tO' mouth, until we awake that spirit- 



104 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

ual "something" which now lies dormant in about ninety- 
five per cent, of the people. 



PRACTICAL EXAMPLES 

To me this is the most fascinating feature of religious 
development to which vv^e can look forward. To see men 
born again (which was the term which Jesus used when 
referring to His soul awakening) right here on this earth 
is far more interesting to me than to speculate regarding 
worlds to come. The same is true of most business men. 
Unless religion can perform work in this world now, it 
does not interest the average business man. He will not 
accept notes payable sixty days after the world comes 
to an end. 

To set this faith to work, I have tried some interest- 
ing experiments and have endeavored to treat spiritual 
faith and actions exactly as one would treat electricity, 
steam, or any other force. Not content with hymn singing 
and formal praying, I have tried to put religion to work 
— ^harness it and m.ake it usable. Som6 people think my 
efforts are sacrilegious, other people think they are mer- 
cenary; while a few think them to be crazy or hypo- 
critical. Hov/ever, all I have done is honestly to answer 
people who have written to me for advice, 
\ Below you will find some of these answers : 

Question : 

Do you recommend buying bonds on new or 
' undeveloped properties? 

Answer : 

People are apt to talk about *Taith" as some intangible 
thing for Sunday school use only. Let me tell you, how- 



RELIGION AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 105 

ever, that faith is the greatest of undeveloped resources 
and one of the biggest dividend payers that I know of. 
When you invest your money in a way that requires no 
faith, then either you must be content with a simple rate 
of interest or else must be prepared to take a good loss. 
I know it is easy to buy the popular kind of stocks which 
your friends are buying. The very fact, however, that it 
requires no faith to buy these things is sufficient evidence 
to me that they should be let alone. Capitalize your faith. 
Buy something that requires faith in the growth of the 
country. This should be done thoughtfully and based only 
on careful investigation. Faith without statistics is as 
bad as statistics without faith. The real way to make 
money, however, is to combine the two. 

Question : 

I think you make a mistake to talk so much 
about religion, faith, etc. May I advise that you 
cease referring to these things ? 

Answer : 

You criticize me for putting faith in God and one's 
fellow men as a business asset Perhaps you are right and 
I am wrong. Let me tell you, however, that if statistics 
have taught me any one thing it is this truth. I enclose a 
leaflet on the subject, which you should read. 

Question : 

I am in the shoe^buslness. Am now very busy 
and cannot fill all the orders which we have, so 
that there is a tendency to make poor goods in 
order to make more goods. What's the outlook 
for the next business depression ? 



106 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

Answer : 

Regarding business conditions in your special line 
when general business slackens, will say that it largely 
depends upon the service which you and others render 
in the meantime. If you are so anxious for profits that 
you neglect quality and service, then you will suffer an 
inevitable reaction. On the other hand, if you will put 
profits secondary and keep up the quality and service of 
your goods, you should have a fairly good business even 
during hard times. 

Jesus* teaching that *'With what measure ye mete, it 
shall be measured unto you" is not a mere platitude. It 
is an economic truth. Statistics clearly show that he 
profits most who serves best. I do not mean by this that 
the man who tries the hardest, profits most, nor the man 
whose intentions are best. I do, however, mean that 
profit is an inevitable reaction from rendering service, and 
that loss is an inevitable reaction from failure to render 
service. 

Question : 

I am out of work. Can you help me get a 
job? 
Answer : 

Replying to your request for help, will state that what 
you lack is faith, courage, initiative, and imagination. If 
you had these things you could get a job. Moreover, you 
can get these qualities if you will pray and work for 
them. As a starter I suggest that you make this prayer 
three times a day for the next ten days : 

''O God, may I remember that when You say that 
*with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto 
you' You mean it. May I remember that I am just as 



RELIGION AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 107 

sure to get rewarded if I make myself useful as I am sure 
of being punished for my sins. May I no longer refuse 
to work because I am not paid. Until I get a job may I 
spend my time doing something for somebody without 
pay. May I start this very day to make myself useful to 
somebody, somewhere, somehow. The pay doesn't bother 
me. I know that will come, O God, if I do something 
to deserve it." 

Question : 

For seven years now I have held one job with 
hardly an increase in pay. Others who have 
come here since I did, are going ahead of me. 
What can I do to get a raise? 

Answer : 

You ask me to help you to get promoted. I will help 

you. Get your family together once a day and say this 

prayer over with them: 

*'0 God, give me a strong desire to render 
greater service in my daily work so I can get 
real pleasure out of this work. May I and my 
fellow workers remember that what we get in 
increased wages, without rendering increased 
service in return, is offset by an increase in the 
cost of living; may we remember that we get 
ahead only as improved methods of production 
and distribution are introduced. 

"I resolve to give a definite time each day to 
acquiring better health and more knowledge. 
Give me more faith, O God, that I may have 
courage, hope, and initiative. Give me ideas 
that I may help my industry make better goods 
for less money. When I go to my employer for 



^' 



,« 
»« 



108 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

advice — as I now promise to do — prepare him 
to co-operate with me that we may know ond 
another better and all work together. 

''Finally, O God, put within me a confidence 
and trust in Jesus' statement, 'With what meas- 
ure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you/ 
That is, may I not ask for more money until I 
render better service. Furthermore, may I cease 
being a mere machine, using only my hands; 
rather may I use my brains and some day 
devise methods by which our goods may be 
made or distributed better and cheaper than at 
present." 

Question : 

What can you do for the man out of luck? 
, Surely the world is against me. 

\ ' Answer: 

Replying to your request for advice will state that 
i ' what you lack is faith, courage, initiative, and imagina- 

f • tion. If you have these things you can get along. More- 

l over, you can get these qualities if you will pray and 

\, work for them. As a starter I suggest that you make 

this prayer three times a day for the next ten days: 

*'0 God, may I remember that, when You 
say that what measure we mete it shall be meas- 
ured to us again. You mean it. May I remem- 
ber that I am just as sure to get rewarded for 
making myself useful as I am sure of being 
punished for my sins. 

"May I no longer refuse to work harder be- 
cause I am not paid more. May I always spend 



RELIGION AND PERSONAL EFFICIENCY 109 

my time doing something for somebody. All 
day to-day may I be on the lookout for some- 
thing more to do and somebody to help. I am 
willing to trust You for the reward. 

"May I prepare myself for a big job which 
You are going to give me when I'm ready for it. 
May I begin right to-day and take better care of 
my health; may I study to prepare myself for 
the work to come. And, Lord, may I not expect 
too much from manual labor alone. May I 
remember that faith, initiative, originality are 
the things which really bring results in this 
world. May I seek to develop these qualities 
and trust You for the result." 



CHAPTER IX 

THE RELIGION WHICH WILL FINALLY SURVIVE 

The writer belongs to the Congregational branch of 
the Protestant group; but the reason doubtless is that his 
father and mother were members of that church and that 
he was brought up in the Congregational faith. If his 
parents had been Presbyterians or belonged to the Church 
of England, he probably would be of their faith; while 
if they had been Roman Catholics he would probably 
to-day be a Roman Catholic. Therefore, he is very loth 
to criticize other people or any denomination, because 
it is perhaps only by chance that he is not a member of 
such denomination. 

Many business men to-day feel this same way. Some 
go so far as to say that Hinton White best states their 
attitude in his poem entitled "Shrines," which reads: 

"IVe traveled far in many lands, 

The open road IVe trod; 
And through the devious ways of men 
I've searched with them for God. 

**The ancients found Him in their g-raves, 
The Wise Men saw the Star. 
God comes to some in paths of peace, 
To some in flaming war. 

"Before the Buddha some men bow; 
Some love the Nazarene. 
The mystic feels a Presence near, 
Although no form is seen. 



'tj' 



"On desert sands the vision comes, 
As men turn toward the East, 
And while some, fasting, see His face. 
Some find Him at the feast. 

no 



RELIGION WHICH WILL FINALLY SURVIVE 111 

**In temple, mosque, cathedral dim, 
Through vigil, chant, and prayer, 
Wherever man cries out to God 
The Living God is there. 

**Wherever man has fought for right. 
Where man for man has died; 
Beside him stands, could we but see. 
One that was crucified. 

"Alone I have communed with Him 
Beneath a starlit sky, 
And I have touched His garment hem 
Where crowds go surging by. 

"And this is clear in all my search, 
As clear as noonday sun; 
The name and form are naught to God, 
To Him all shrines are one." 



CONDITIONS CONTINUALLY CHANGING 

A study of statistics has convinced me that no one 
knows what is the best denomination or church at the 
present time; or if we know which is the best church 
to-day, this would not necessarily mean that it would con- 
tinue to be the best for more than a few years. The best 
denomination to-day may be far from the best a genera- 
tion hence, while one of the weaker churches to-day may 
be the strongest a few years hence. 

There are good and bad in all religions and all 
churches. Of course, truth is truth and without doubt 
the creeds and theology of some churches are much 
nearer the truth than the creeds and theology of others. 
It, however, is safe to say that all churches are rooted 
in some great fundamental truth and that no one church 
has all of the truth. Which church has the most truth, or 
is nearest to the truth, is what the business man would 
like to know. 

The point to be emphasized in this chapter, however, 



112 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

is that the truth can never be determined by argument or 
by majority vote. The churches are like a lot of men 
overboard. Those who can swim will be saved and the 
best swimmer will get to the shore first, irrespective of 
the claims, beliefs, or wishes of the people on the shore. 
Hence, the business man feels it is useless to argue over 
religious beliefs and theology. It seems crazy to the busi- 
ness man for a group of ministers or bishops to get 
together and vote on such questions as the ''Divinity of 
Jesus," or what are Jesus' wishes in connection with 
marriage, divorce, interest, charity, or any other subject. 
\ "By their fruits ye shall know them," is the text which 
Jesus gave for churches and denominations. He did not 
judge churches by their theologies, form, organization,' 
or even by their numbers. He applied the acid test of 
"By their fruits ye shall know them." The business man 
is already applying these tests to the churches. The fact 
that so many churches are so absolutely void of fruit 
keeps the business man aloof from them. 

NUMBERS NOT NECESSARY 

In the latter part of this book will be found the latest 
Statistics on church membership, amount of property 
held, and other interesting data. These figures are pub- 
lished, however, only for general information and not 
as the basis of any claim. These figures fail to impress 
even a statistician in connection with church work. They 
certainly mean very little to the thoughtful business man. 
The best church or religion is that which is produc- 
ing the best men and women, or rather men and women 
who are responsible for the most of the world's good. 
FurtheiTnore, the best religion is that which is pro- 



RELIGION WHICH WILL FINALLY SURVIVE 113 

ducing the most per capita rather than that which is 
producing- the most in total. The statistics in the appen- 
dix of this book can be compared only with the gross 
earnings of a corporation. In order for one to compare 
fairly the efficiency of two corporations, he must know 
the number of people employed by both, the amount of 
capital required by both, and the amount accomplished 
per individual and per dollar invested. When this acid 
test is applied to our churches, it may be found that some 
of the smaller denominations are far more efficient than 
some of the larger ones. 

In accordance with this Law of Action and Reaction, 
which is the basis of Jesus' teachings, the ability of 
churches to render service varies with different genera- 
tions. It is a great mistake for any of us to think that 
our church or denomination is better than all others; 
while to criticize any individual simply because he is 
Roman Catholic, Church of England, Methodist, Chris- 
tian Scientist, or even Mormon may be a great mistake. 

DIFFERENT TEMPERAMENTS DEMAND DIFFERENT 

CHURCHES 

Without doubt in the selection of a religion one's tem- 
perament should be taken into consideration. The emo- 
tional type can be helped by one denomination which 
would be very offensive to the unemotional type. The in- 
tellectual type demands a kind of religion which would not 
in any way appeal to many people. Most of the denom- 
inations have their use and place in the economic world. 
Certainly if all the large denominations were wiped out 
to-day, they would again rise and come into being owing 
to the different temperaments, tastes, and needs of differ- 






•*■-. 



114 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

ent groups of people. Let us then treat all churches and 
religions with reverence and consideration. 

The relations between the different denominations vary 
greatly with different communities. In some places there 
is a strong feeling of unfriendliness between the Protes- 
tants and Roman Catholics, while in other communities 
very friendly relations exist. In some places it is the 
Unitarians or Universahsts or Swedenborgians who are 
discriminated against. In the younger western sections 
of the country there is apt to be a more friendly feeling 
among all the different groups than is true in the East — 
especially in New England. Yet the annexed advertise- 
ment is cut from a daily newspaper of Old Town, Maine, 
in April, 1920. 

DANGER IN TOO GREAT LIBERALISM 

Church co-operation does not mean that one denomina- 
tion is as good as another or that one church is as good 
as another. There is as much difference in denominations 
as in doctors, lawyers, and engineers. There is as much 
difference in churches as in hospitals, courts, and fac- 
tories. The fact that preachers are sincere is no reason 
that they are preaching sound doctrines; and they can 
co-operate without endorsing one another's creeds. The 
fact that you or I are ''honest'' in our differences is no 
reason why either your religion or my religion is the 
best. We may honestly believe that two and two are 
five; but that does not make it so. If we were to operate 
our businesses on such a mistaken theology, we would 
lose 20 per cent, of every transaction and would soon be 
in bankruptcy. 

In the selection of a religion it is useless to consume 



RELIGION WHICH WILL FINALLY SURVIVE 115 

much time in studying theological questions. The preack 
ers themselves know very little about such things. It is 
sheer nonsense for you or I to put forth an opinion on 
"The Virgin Birth," "Predestination," "Original Sin," 
and similar mooted questions. It is an old saying that it 
takes two to make a bargain or a row. If business men 
would only remember this, they could forget this whole 
question of theology. 

There is no reason why we business men should be 
interested in these things, and if the preachers themselves 
gave less thought to them we all would be better off. 
This is not an appeal to liberalism or indifference. It is 
just as bad to believe that two plus two makes three as 
to believe that they combine to make five. It is unwise 
to give all denominations or all churches a clean bill of 
health. There are many dangerous as well as foolish 
creeds. But the truth can never be ascertained by argu- 
ments or by votes. Only future history can tell what is 
the best church denomination. 



THE ETHICAL GROUPS 

Although much time has been wasted in theological 
discussions, such discussions do not present such a dan- 
ger as do certain aesthetic and philosophical religious 
teachings. There is a great tendency among well-to-do 
people, and others who are not so well-to-do, to look upon 
religion as an aesthetic force, rather than as a great pro- 
ductive force. They point with pride to wonderful 
Brahman and other religious leaders of the Eastern coun- 
tries. They honor these mystic teachers for their "poise, 
serenity, and virtue." "That is the life," these people 
say, "these mystical Eastern philosophers have the real 



X, 



116 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

truth.'* Doubtless, such philosophies appeal to both the 
idle rich and the struggling poor; but such philosophies 
are certainly dangerous. The fact is that were it not for 
the grace of the English Government, these Brahman 
priests would have been wiped out of India long ago. It 
is only owing to the protection which they receive from 
the people having the stronger and more virile religion 
of the English Christian Church that they have been 
able to exist. 

The idea of religion for religion's sake is very danger- 
ous. Unless our churches can give us something more 
than aesthetic enjoyment and emotional gratification, 
they are of little use. The best religion is that which best 
awakens the energies of men and best succeeds in direct- 
ing these energies 'toward useful production. Jesus said, 
*T am come that they may have life and have it abun- 
dantly." The purpose of the church is to give the world 
more life and to open it up for the benefit of all. The best 
church is that church which does the most to make the 
people healthy, happy, and prosperous. Many pagan 
religions have been successful in spurring people on to 
sacrifice; but none of them have equalled Christianity in 
turning this energy into productive channels. This is the 
reason why the pagan religions are doomed and why it is 
impossible for the old civilizations of India, China, and 
Turkey to hold out against the great productive religions 
of the West. 

RELIGION THAT WINS 

The best religion is that religion which best fits men 
for the struggle of life and which best enables men to 
win in the struggle of life. The domination of the world 
should go to the people of the best religion, but the truth 



RELIGION WHICH WILL FINALLY SURVIVE 117 

IS that the people who ultimately dominate the world 
will have proven which is the best religion. We can 
never decide which is the best religion by argument or 
vote. This can be decided only by letting all of the relig- 
ions race and giving the banner to the winner. Some day 
the world will be dominated by some one group of people. 
It may be Protestants; it m.ay be Catholics; it may be 
Mormons; it may be Christian Scientists; it may be 
Mohammedans or Buddhists. Only when that day comes 
shall we know what is the best religion. The fact that 
their religion has enabled them to dominate the world 
will be evidence that they have the best religion and the 
soundest theology. 

The best religion is the religion which will bring the 
largest success; using that word in its fullest meaning. 
The best religion is the religion of those people who will 
win out in competition with other peoples having other 
religions. Just as surely as man with a little religion has 
won dominion over the animal kingdom, just so surely 
that group with the best religion will dominate the entire 
world. Furthermore, this should be true. Any other sys- 
tem would be grossly unfair and dangerous. 

A great mistake is being made to-day by so much talk 
about people's rights. As soon as a man is born he is a 
beggar, and must look about for a place to exist. "All 
men are created free and equal to struggle'* is the most 
that can be said. This does not justify helping one at the 
expense of another. This statement does not justify idle- 
ness on the part of the rich any more than on the part of 
the poor. The writer simply means that more talk should 
be made about struggle and less about "rights." Struggle 
makes a people stronger; while "rights'* make them 
weaker. « 






\ :~^X -«■•>--*■ 



.«■ - 



118 " RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKS 

The modern churches especially interested in faith, 
prayer, and similar things deserve the greatest respect. 
These are fundamental features of religion, and their 
importance cannot be over-emphasized. Paul, however, 
expressed the situation very frankly when he said, 'Taith 
without works is dead." Prayer and faith are good 
things only so far as they result in useful service. Per- 
forming useful service is more effective in the sight of 
God than the offering of a thousand prayers. More pray- 
ing is necessary and all business men would be far better 
off if they spent more time in communion with God. But 
faith and prayer and all these things are useless except- 
ing as they make us more efficient, more productive, and 
more useful. 

In the same way, everything which weakens or ener- 
vates us is harmful. Worry is wrong. Fear is a sin, v/hile 
the lack of self-control or the yielding to personal gratifi- 
cation is very dangerous. The best religion is that which 
strengthens man's character and makes him- stronger and 
more courageous. Religion for religion's sake is danger- 
ous; religion for personal gratification is dangerous. The 
best religion is that which makes its people most efficient, 
most productive, most useful, and most worth while. 
This is the test which men demand in business and our 
religion must pass the same test. 

Some people will attempt to argue against these points, 
but what is the use of argument? We know very well 
that if a conflict existed between two nations, the first 
nation, one enjoying religion for religion's sake, with per- 
sonal happiness and gratification as the comer stone ; and 
the second nation with a religion which disciplined its 
people and made greater service its comer stone, the 



RELIGION WHICH WILL FINALLY SURVIVE 119 

second nation would quickly wipe out the first nation. 
Under these conditions, what is the use of arguing? 
There would only be one thing for the first nation to do; 
either to repent or to perish. The first nation would have 
for its motto : ''We produce in order that we may con- 
sume." The second nation would have for its motto: 
*'We consume in order that we may produce." Every 
business man knows that the religion that ultimately 
dominates the world will be the religion with the second 
motto for its slogan. 

WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG? 

The church has lost many people by dogmatically stat- 
ing what is right and what is wrong. Preachers have 
perhaps made a mistake by basing their sermons on short 
texts and so-called scriptural comments. The methods 
which many preachers even follow to-day of basing their 
sermons on some unrelated text that has driven many 
business men away from the church. These business men 
have the impression that the ministers have first written 
the sermons and then have hunted up some text from 
which to start. These texts sound good, but an analysis 
often would show that, when originally stated, they did 
not have the meaning which the preacher gives to them. 

Right and wrong- vary with different communities, 
different groups, different circumstances, and difTerent 
individuals. What is poison for one, is food for another; 
and what is right for one, is wrong for another. The 
church has made a great mistake in determining dog? 
matically laws for all sections, all groups, and all indi- 
viduals. 

Things are right and wrong not because somebody at 



120 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

any time so declared. Things are right only because in a 
long run they pay ; they are wrong only because in a long 
run they do not pay. Pain and pleasure are mere sig- 
nals. Pain is a danger sign, a red lantern; while pleasure 
is the reverse. If we did not have pain when our body 
burned, we would some day, when standing back to a fire 
with our hands behind us, lose our hands before we knew 
it. Pain from a toothache or from any other trouble is 
a danger signal, and we should thank God for it. The 
wise preacher will start with pain and pleasure and prcn 
duce from this the economic conclusion that certain 
things are right and other things are wrong. 

This applies to the great social problems and the rela- 
tion between man and man as well as to questions of per- 
sonal indulgence. Hence, a crime is not only something 
that brings pain to us as individuals, but is that which 
brings pain or trouble to any member of a group. Any- 
thing which we do to promote our own interests, at the 
expense of the entire group, is wrong and should be con- 
demned. On the other hand, anything that we do to 
enrich the community is right, even though we greatly 
benefit thereby. Hence, the best religion is the religion 
which gives the best results both to the individual and to 
the group. The real test of a religion is whether its fol- 
lowers are healthy, happy, and prosperous. 

Here again the writer desires to emphasize the sim- 
plicity and soundness of the Christian religion. It has 
been shown in a previous chapter that the first great com- 
mandment, *'Love thy God," simply means cheerful con- 
formity to natural law. It has also been shown that the 
second great commandment, "Love thy neighbor as thy- 
self," is also founded on economic teaching. This last is 
clearly seen in connection with the group's relation to 



RELIGION WHICH WILL FINALLY SURVIVE 121 

right and wrong. If a thing hurts any one in the group, 
it hurts us as a part of the group, and hence is wrong. 
The group which will survive all others is the group 
which best realizes this great fundamental truth. 



THE QUESTION OF WEALTH 

As heretofore stated, Jesus had no interest in property 
as suck He continually emphasized that life consisteth 
not in the abundance of things which a man possesseth, 
but rather in the intangibles; such as health, happiness, 
and independence, which latter is very dependent on pros- 
perity. Hence, He always closed His appeals with the 
promise that if we' would be saturated with the Service 
Idea, we would automatically become prosperous. 

Jesus never objected to wealth as such, but rather He 
objected to dependence on wealth, as in the case of the 
man who decided to retire from business so as to "eat, 
drink, and be merry." He also objected to the vast dif- 
ference that exists between different people' under dif- 
ferent circumstances. This was emphasized by John the 
Ba:^iist when he said : 

"Make ye ready the way of the Lord, make 
His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, 
and every mountain and hill shall be brought 
!ow; and the crooked shall become straight, 
and the rough ways smooth, and all flesh shall 
see the salvation of God." 
Jesus would not object to milhonaires as such, but He 
would object very strongly to any system which Would 
result in having only a few millionaires and the rest of 
the people poor. The more millionaires we have, the bet- 
ter off people are, provided these men make their money 



122 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

by producing and by increasing- the total wealth of the 
community. Those who make their wealth by increasing 
the total wealth of the community are a blessing to the 
community. We want more of such people. Those, how- 
ever, who secure their wealth only from others, like the 
gambler, are a menace to the community. 

This means that every dollar which we secure by mak- 
ing the community better and richer is right in the sight 
of God; but every dollar which we secure by methods 
which do not add to the health, happiness, and prosperity 
of the community is dishonestly secured. 

The importance of this statement cannot be over- 
emphasized. Doubtless its non-recognition by the church 
has kept many bad men in and many good men out. If 
our churches would lay more stress on this fundamental 
teaching and less stress on theological questions, the 
churches and the nations would be very much better off 
to-day. 

The churches should doubtless do some house cleaning. 
Many men should change their occupations or get out of 
the church. Many women should do something useful or 
else get out of the church. 

RELIGION AND PROSPERITY 

A further study shows the most interesting connec- 
tion between religion and prosperity. Were inheritances 
and government interferences eliminated, the most truly 
religious men would gradually but surely acquire the 
wealth of the earth. The truly religious are those who 
best observe the laws of God and seek continually to ren- 
der the best service. Prosperity naturally gravitates to 
such people. They cannot be held down. 

For instance, the farmer who gets the largest crops 



RELIGION WHICH WILL FINALLY SURVIVE 123 

per acre has the most profit left at the end of the season. 
If he is a religious man, instead of wasting this profit on 
himself and family, he will invest it in more land. Thus, 
the succeeding year he has more acres to till. This 
process continues from year to year and he naturally be- 
comes the owner of the largest farm in the community. 
Thus, if the laws of nature are allowed to work freely, 
the wealth of the world automatically gravitates to those 
who can most efficiently use and conserve it. 

Trouble comes only when men, after securing their 
wealth, become careless, indifferent, and indulgent. As 
pride and haughtiness precede destruction, so trouble 
automatically follows indifference. The inheritance laws 
doubtless interfere with this natural process, as an indus- 
trious, thrifty, religious farmer may be followed by a 
worthless, indifferent son. Even under these conditions, 
however, the nation is better off to have the property 
left to such a son than to have it left to the state. 
If the son is careless, he will soon lose control of the 
property and it will pass into the hands of some one 
else who is better able to take care of it; but if it went 
to the state, it would continue to be the property of the 
state, even though inefificiently and extravagantly han- 
dled by the state. 

What is true of farming is true also of all the greai- 
industries. If nature is allowed to take its course, we 
can be sure that the results will be for the best. Of course 
this was not always true, as man has passed through 
various stages. In the first stage the victory went to the 
fighter; in the second stage, it went to the talker; but in 
the present final stage, the victory is going to the pro- 
ducer. Hence, the best religion is the religion which will 
produce the most. 



124 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

Just a word of warning to those good-hearted people 
who are crazy over democracy. It is very much better to 
talk and vote than it is to fight and kill. Let no one 
think, however, that our democracy is in any final shape. 
Jesus did not say much about democracy because He knew 
of its weaknesses. Jesus said very little about economic 
or sociological affairs. He believed that religious com- 
munities can get on all right without socialism; while 
even socialism cannot succeed excepting as people are 
filled with the religious spirit. Jesus' economic teachings 
are best expressed by the Parable of the Talents. In 
choosing the men for the leaders, He did not suggest that 
they be chosen by voting. Jesus never appealed to sym- 
pathy nor popularity. The determining factor in His 
method of selecting people was the amount that they 
had produced with what they had been given. The man 
who had produced ten pounds was given rule over ten 
cities ; the man who had produced five pounds was given 
rule over five cities; but the man who had wrapped his 
pound in a napkin and produced nothing, had to give up 
that pound to the one who had produced ten. 

Those who have property must cease depending on 
property, for as we depend on our wealth we become self- 
satisfied, inefficient, and weak. We must continually 
keep in mind that we have our wealth only in trust and 
we must not use it for self-gratification, display, or in any 
way that will make others dissatisfied or unhappy. Our 
©nly justification for holding property is that we are 
using It to create more property, as did the man with the 

ten talents. 

Those business men, however, who are filled with the 
vision of service are great blessings to the community 
and should be encouraged from every point of view. All 



RELIGION WHICH WILL FINALLY SURVIVE 125 

attempts to present the pleasing side of religion are very 
harmful. Some preachers rail against the rich to please 
the poor; while other preachers defend the rich in order 
to please the rich. Both Dolicies are wrong and harm- 
ful. It is demoralizing to appeal to popularity in any 
way. Riches are neither right nor wrong by themselves. 
It all depends on how they are secured and how they are 
used. The religion of the future will work to have all 
people healthy, happy, and prosperous; it will strive to 
have a hundred Standard Oils instead of one; it will 
seek to have an automobile owned by every family 
instead of by only a few; it will extol, instead of depre- 
ciate, both men and property. On the other hand, the 
coming religion will make most careful distinctions as 
to how wealth is secured and how it is used. Those who 
secure their wealth without making the community better 
and richer or those who use it in an ostentatious way to 
make others unhappy, will be frowned upon. The church 
which finally survives will be that church which teaches 
its people to produce, at the same time continually empha- 
sizing that the production must be in the interests of the 
group as a whole. A study of history strongly suggests 
that this will be some branch of the Christian church. 



CHAPTER X 

THE INTERCHURCH MOVEMENT 

A STtJDY of history also suggests that before the 
Christian rehgion comes to its own, there must be far 
greater co-operation than at present between the various 
sects and denominations. This does not mean that there 
must be only one denomination; but that there must be 
co-operation between the different denominations. On the 
essentials, the different branches of the church now agree. 
Hence they can at any time unite upon these essentials. 
The different branches of the church already agree on 
enough things to make co-operation helpful and profit- 
able for all. 

For this reason, business men look with favor on the 
principles of the Interchurch Movement, which came into 
being in 1919, at the close of the war. In April, 1920, 
this movement consisted of over thirty large denomina- 
tions which jointly carried on a united campaign for 
members, workers, and money. 

Although mistakes have naturally been made by men 
connected with this great movement, its nature appeals 
strongly to thoughtful business men as being a step in 
the right direction. Furthermore, although its work 
was of a very spiritual nature, it also had a * 'Friendly 
Citizens" department, which took in those who are now 
connected with no church and who by nature cannot 
conscientiously now accede to any creed, 

126 



THE INTERCHURCH MOVEMENT 127 

THE MOVEMENT DESCRIBED 

The Interchurch Movement undertook to collect and 
chart facts on a world scale, and to promote the most 
efficient organization of church forces to meet the vast 
needs. More than one-half of the population of the globe 
has yet to hear the Gospel of Jesus. The World War 
changed conditions and opened doors of opportunity for 
Christianity everywhere. 

The Foreign Field calls not only for the evangelist 
and the Bible, but for the teacher, the school and college, 
the medical missionary, the hospital, the orphanage, the 
printing of good literature. 

In Home Territory, conditions demand not only the 
preacher and the gospel, but tests of social efficiency for 
churches, both old and new, decent support for pastors, 
provisions for hospitals and other benevolent institutions, 
a practical system of religious education and Christian 
social service in Americanization, racial, industrial, and 
economic problems. The Interchurch Movement pro- 
posed a united survey, a united program, and a united 
gathering of life and money. 

NEEDS OF FOREIGN FIELDS 

Mohammedanism, forty million strong, is crying 
"Africa for Mohammed." Unbridled commercialism ex- 
ploits the black man. In the heart of Africa no church 
has made any provision for thirty million pagans. 

In the Malaysian Islands two million pagans may 
become Mohammedans in two generations. More than 
fifteen million people in Java live in wholly pagan 
territory. 

Afghanistan punishes professing Christians with death. 
Missionary approach, by medical relief and Hterature, 



128 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

rmist h& made through Persia, which is better disposed 
toward foreigriers than before the war. 
i In Turkey tho-e are eleven million Mohammedans to 
'two million nominal Christians. The Qiristian powers, 
and especially Christians of America, must determine the 
character of the new day in Turkey. 

One child in every five born in India dies within twelve 
months; 95 per cent, of the men and 99 per cent, of the 
women have never learned the first letter of the alphabet. 
Fifty million are outcastes. 

China contains one-quarter of the world's population; 
95 per cent, are illiterate. There is but one trained doctor 
to every 427,000 people. 

Japan is in peril from materialism and irreligion. Her 
machinery of modern industry has no soul. Factory laws 
provide that little children shall not work before four 
A.M. nor after ten p.m.! In Tokyo nine-tenths of 
30,000 college students enroll themselves as without 
religion. Leadership of the Far East is at stake. 

A great stretch of dangerous territory lies in the center 
of South America, including the interiors of Brazil, 
Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Para- 
guay. One State in northern Brazil has but one teacher 
for a million people along the Amazon. Eight million 
people are served by twenty-nine humble teachers. 

FOREIGN OPENINGS 

Over one million Africans in war service with the 
Allies returned with new views. Under British control, 
most of Africa will now be open to Christian teaching. 
Ekitrance into Portuguese East Africa is possible. Pro- 
gressive Boers dominate South Africa. 
Missionary approach, by medical relief and literattire, 



THE INTERCHURCH MOVEMENT 1Z9 

Caste niles are weakening in India; while the soldiers 
returning from Europe demand increase of home rale. 
Mass movements among pariahs will go either Moham- 
medan or Christian. 

China's unrest emphasizes America's opportunity. In- 
terchurch co-operation is popular in China. Five great 
cities have "United City Committees" for evangelism, 
Sunday school organization, social work, and distribu- 
tion of literature. The "China for Christ" movement is 
being organized by a committee composed of an equal 
number of Chinese and foreigners. Progressive Chinese 
are the commercial masters in the Malaysian archipelago. 
They are heartily supporting the educational enterprises 
of the missionaries. 

In China the invention of a phonetic system of thirty- 
nine symbols now enables all characters in the Chinese 
language to be represented. By this system Chinese of 
ordinary capacity can be taught to read in a few weeks. 
Preparation of literature and periodicals in this script 
will furnish a method of social service heretofore impos- 
sible. 

The Union Educational Movement in China, which 
began ten years ago among missionary leaders, has cul- 
minated in a program which is putting into practical 
effect the principles of union and co-operation. The im- 
portance of this Chinese situation cannot be over-esti- 
mated. As China goes, the world will go, politically, 
socially, and industrially. 

The percentage of increase in Protestant Church mem- 
bers in the Philippine Islands is greater than in any other 
foreign field. American occupation found only 5 per cent, 
of the people literate. Now 45 per cent. are. By agree- 



130 ' RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

ment, denominations partition the island for missionary 
occupation. 

NEEDS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

The cities of the United States must be saved before 
America can be saved- "New York is the greatest mis- 
sion field in the world." Protestant churches recruit 
largely from rural churches in the drift of population to 
the cities. Rural ideals fail to recognize differing city con- 
ditions. The church must serve the particular community 
in which it is situated. Parish ministry, not merely pul- 
pit ministry, is required. There must be co-operation with 
agencies of social service. Continuous survey, continu- 
ous adaptation of plans and policies, continuous cam- 
paign of. publicity, trained leaders, are imperative. 

It is estimated that the constituency of Protestant 
churches represents more than 50 per cent, latent energy 
— unenlisted membership. Over-churching and under- 
churching characterize town and country regions of the 
United States. The following examples were given by the 
statisticians of the Interchurch Movement: 

* Thirty-six churches within six miles and no 
religious advance. Townships adjoining almost 
unrared for and 1,000 without religious influ- 
ence. One town of 2,000 has had only an occa- 
sional service in ten years. One village, fifteen 
years old, four hundred persons, had never seen 
a minister until the Interchurch made its survey. 
''Twenty-five thousand people in one indus- 
trial area have no religious supervision. One 
Eastern town has six churches for 150 people 
and no resident minister- 



THE INTERCHURCH MOVEMENT 131 

"One denomination with 17,000 country 
churches has 12,000 vacant pulpits every Sun- 
day. Another denomination has nine-tenths of 
its churches served by absentee pastors, three- 
quarters have but one service a month, one- 
quarter have no Sunday school. Hundreds of 
towns lack churches; seventeen whole counties 
in central and western States are reported with- 
out any churches." 
A hopeful sign is the co-operation of missionary 
boards, theological seminaries, summer schools, agricul- 
tural colleges, etc., in preparing leaders for rural work 
among the farmers and lumber camps. A million and a 
half migrant workers are required to harvest Nature's 
diversified and scattered bounty. They are unorganized, 
unskilled, uncared for, and at the mercy of the radical 
and the exploiter, unless the church performs its duty 
to them. 

American churches must face peculiar responsibility 
for the progress of the Negro-American, the Indian, the 
Oriental in the United States, the men, women, and chil- 
dren of the West Indies, Alaska, and the possessions 
across the Pacific. 

MINISTERIAL SALARIES 

There are in the United States about 180,000 minis- 
ters. Out of every 100 ministers only one receives $4,000 
or more; three receive $3,000 or more; ten receive $2,000 
or more; twenty receive $1,500 or more; eighty receive 
less than $1,000, and ten ministers out of every 100 
receive less than $500. 

Such inadequate salaries are caused by the failure of 



132 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

the layman to pay more for ministerial support than his 
father did or his grandfather did. He pays not a tithe, 
but a tenth of a tithe. There is something wrong when a 
business m^an is wilHng that his minister should live on a 
smaller salary than the chauffeur who drives him to 
church. 

The cost of living has increased 70 per cent, since 19 14. 
The workingman's pay has risen to correspond. The 
minister's salary stays almost where it was. Such lack of 
appreciation of the minister's work has driven capable 
young men into callings where they are valued. The min- 
istry suffers from their loss and from the presence of 
supply preachers, earnest but untrained. How can the 
church expect the world to heed its appeal for social 
justice as long as it does not pension its retired ministers ? 

Twenty-six million children and youth in the United 
States are growing up without any systematic training 
in religion. In all churches a lack of trained leaders, in- 
sufficiency of time, inadequate expenditure of money, no 
definite program are found. 

For the training of leaders in religious work, thef 
United States has furnished neither men enough nor 
money enough. Life decisions must be encouraged at 
high-school age; students must be trained in colleges 
under faculties paid a living wage, churches must co- 
operate in introducing religious training and supporting 
theological schools. The integrity of the business and 
labor leaders of the next twenty years is to be determined 
by the religious teachers of to-day. 

The needs of the world must be met. Out of the 
upheaval of war comes the keen sense of dependence 
upon the religion and the value of co-operation to effect 
results. No program for a day will suffice. Continuous 



THE INTERCHURCH MOVEMENT 133 

education Is necessary. In order that every individual as 
well as the material resources of the churches may be 
utilized, the Interchurch Movement planned departments 
for the sole purpose of providing practical means of 
meeting the world task. 



INTERCHURCH DEPARTMENTS 

The Spiritual Resources, Life Work, Stewardship, and 
Missiorictry Education Departments each were to have 
representatives associated with the State Secretaries, and 
these should have representatives in each county, com- 
munity, and rhurch. 

Prayer is the first essential of preparation. Through 
the Spiritual Resources Department individual Christians 
should be enlisted to pray daily; programs of prayer for 
designated seasons and events are co-ordinated ; literature 
on devotional topics is being produced and distributed; 
aid is given to every evangelization and forward move- 
ment. In all activities in the field, emphasis should be 
laid on methods for deepening spiritual power, such as 
services of intercession, addresses on prayer, and the 
distribution of literature. 

The safety and progress of the world depends pri- 
marily upon securing an adequate supply of qualified 
leaders. It is estimated that at least 100,000 new fore- 
men and other leaders will be required by American 
industries within the next five years. Hence the Life 
Work Department was created. 

The age of first impulse toward giving life to Christian 
work is between fourteen and eighteen. At this period 
the specific needs of the church should be brought force- 
fully to the attention of all young people. The unfolding 



134 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

of the basic principles upon which one can discover his 
Hfe work is also of the highest importance. These sub- 
jects furnish splendid opportunity for group study. 
Special literature was prepared by the Life Work De- 
partment of the Interchurch Movement to help pastors, 
parents, church leaders, and young people to deal with 
life work questions. 

A Vocational Guidance Bureau should be organized to 
standardize and improve the counsel given the young 
men and women. A Placement Bureau w^ould aid work- 
ers to secure positions with religious employers. An ex- 
tensive campaign should be carried on in colleges and 
universities to present the claims of true religion as 
the controlling principle of life. The aid of business men 
19 needed in making this appeal to college students and 
also in securing a presentation of opportunities in relig- 
ious calling to high-school students. 

INTERCHURCH PRINCIPLES 

The need of the hour is an entire consecration of life 
with all its possessions. This must be laid upon the con- 
science of every employer and wage worker. 

The following five principles are fundamental and 
self-evident : 

1. God is the owner of all things. 

2. Every man is a steward and must give an account 
for all entrusted to him. 

3. God's ownership and man's stewardship should be 
acknowledged. 

4. This acknowledgment requires the setting apart of 

a portion of income. 

5. The separated portion should be administered for 



THE INTERCHURCH MOVEMENT 135 

the Kingdom, and the remainder also recognized as a 
trust 

The term "Stewardship" is used in its broadest sense. 
Important as wealth may be, it constitutes only a part 
of what God entrusts to man. Life itself is a trust from 
God, and therefore all that pertains to body, mind, and 
spirit belongs in Stewardship. 

The Stewardship Department of the Interchurch 
Movement sought to promulgate the above principles by 
co-operation with the national organizations of all com- 
munions, with Sunday schools, young people's organiza- 
tions, and the Women's and Laymen's Activities Depart- 
ments; by encouraging the pulpit presentation of the 
message; by circulation of literature, promotion of Stew- 
ardship reading courses and study classes and use of 
stereopticon lectures; by training conferences led by this 
department's own trained field secretaries. 

The Missionary Education Department prepared 
graded textbooks, reading books, pictures, and stories 
for children, material for Sunday schools, for pageants 
and dramatics. It prepared a graded program of Mis- 
sionary Education for the church school, a handbook 
for superintendents, teachers, and missionary committees, 
and supplementary matter for the Sunday evening and 
mid-week use of pastors, of young people in their eve- 
ning meetings, and of women. 

There is a conscious feeling among religious business 
men that united action is alone adequate to cope with 
the materialism which threatens to destroy America. 
The present time must be appraised in terms of relig'ious 
faith and living. Each man's responsibility for faci^g^ the 
whole task must be emphasized and the unchurched com- 
munity must be reached. 



136 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

The Laymen's Activities Department of the Inter- 
church Movement was to co-operate with every other 
department and present the message of the movement 
to ali bodies of laymen, such as chambers of commerce, 
clubs, regular and special conventions, labor unions, 
manufacturers' associations, and group conferences. 

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND THE INTERCHURCH 

The problems growing out of industrial relationships 
are universal in their scope and interest. Intelligent and 
conscientious people are convinced that there is injustice 
in our present system, and that much of the distress and 
unrest which results may be cured by the application of 
the principles of Jesus. Upon such business men rests 
heavily the responsibility of initiating action. 

The problems of housing, women in industry, mini- 
mum standard of living, agricultural labor, racial rela- 
tions, child labor, free speech and loyalty, participation of 
labor in management, co-operative societies, and the im- 
migrant in industry can no longer be ignored by the 
church. Intelligent and sympathetic interest in their solu- 
tion will go far toward making the church the power 
that it should be in every community. 

The world is surely getting better. Not so many gener- 
ations ago the church leaders were burning one another 
at the stake and imprisoning men for disagreeing with 
those who were temporarily in power. Now all has 
changed. Co-operation has taken the place of persecu- 
tion, although this co-operation is yet in its infancy. 
Whichever creed will survive cannot now be foretold; 
but it certainly will be a creed which stands for co-opera- 
tion even among those who do not agree on all points. 

As stated, the Interchurch Movement has even 



THE INTERCHURCH MOVEMENT 137 

interested men and women who are not yet attracted to 
any especial church. These persons are a very interest- 
ing group. It has been very profitable to talk with these 
"outsiders" to see how they are thinking and what they 
believe, because, strange to say, they unconsciously have 
their creeds as well as the devoted churchman. These 
people have been asked four questions, viz. : 

1. How should the religious business man earn? 

2. How should the religious business man live? 

3. How should the religious business man invest? 

4. How should the religious business man give? 

The following answers will be found of interest. The 
first question is: 

HOW SHOULD THE RELIGIOUS BUSINESS MAN EARN? 

The answer is : 

"He will not be in business primarily for 
profit. Our only excuse for being in business is 
to render service. Hence, we will be in a busi- 
ness in which — considering both the needs of 
the people and our own capabilities — we can 
perform the best service. To illustrate: The 
truly religious man can farm, manufacture, 
transport, or sell anything which makes people 
healthier, happier, or more prosperous. But to 
enter some other line simply to get more money 
would be a sin. Furthermore, he will be very 
careful to deal honestly in all things and never 
permit the end to justify the means. 

"In view of the above, it is questionable 
whether the religious business man should em- 
ploy or even become associated with those who 



138 REtlGION AND BUSINESS 

have no religion. The world will never take yoti 
seriously until you let your religion determine 
the spending of your money, the selection of 
your workers, and your general conduct of 
business. So long as you will buy and employ 
in the cheapest market, irrespective of the relig- 
ion of the seller of goods or services, your 
religion will never be taken seriously." 

The answer to the second question is even more in-' 
teresting considering that it represents the feeling of men 
outside the established churches. The question is: 

HOW SHOULD THE RELIGIOUS BUSINESS MAN LIVE? 

The answer is : 

"He should live in a healthful way, and so 
that he can work efficiently. To illustrate, he 
should use a sleeping porch, enjoy one or more 
bathrooms, and own an automobile! But the 
home should be small and inconspicuous, no 
larger than the average house in the cofnmu- 
nity; the automobile should not be of the luxury 
type; while much simpler food should be served 
and plainer clothes be worn than is customary 
with fnost well-to-do people. 

"He will expend nothing for show, except as 
it beautifies the community. He will seek to 
hide his wealth, and — so far as it will not re- 
duce his efficiency — will try to have only what 
ALL in the community could have were they 
willing to think, work, and save. This prob- 
ably woidd eliimnate household servants except 
where needed for the sick and aged." 



THE INTERCHURCH MOVEMENT 139 

Now for the third question : 

HOW SHOULD THE RELIGIOUS BUSINESS MAN INVEST? 

This is the answer : 

''Thrift is a fundamental religious virtue, as 
well as a basis of civilization. Our wealth is 
not our own to do with as we wish. We hold it 
simply as trustees. We should spend as little 
as possible on ourselves and invest the balance 
in enterprises which will tend to make people 
healthier, happier, and more prosperous. State, 
city, and town bonds, such as are issued for 
building water works, sewerage plants, good 
roads, etc., are an ideal investment for a Chris- 
tian. Assuming that one is in a useful business 
enterprise, an investment in one's own business 
or in another similar business is justified. Serv- 
ice may also be performed by buying during 
panics and selling during boom times. 

"The truly religious will not invest money in 
enterprises simply for profit; nor in companies 
controlled by unprincipled men. When the Fed- 
eral, State, and City Governments become truly 
honest and efficient, it may be best to have the 
control of this capital in the public hands, espe- 
cially as it descends from one generation to 
another. But until that time comes, the people 
will be better off with private .control, and even 
then should be as well off under private control. 
Hence there is no reason evident to-day why the 
religious business man should become interested 
in Socialism or other communistic movements." 



140 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

The final question is : 

HOW SHOULD THE RELIGIOUS BUSINESS MAN GIVE? 

Here is the answer : 

"This is the most difficult question of all. 
Jesus was plainly an individualist. Public chari- 
ties never appealed to Him. His theory was that 
if we would deal justly and kindly with our 
'neighbor,' there would be no reason for chari- 
ties to exist. He specifically frowned on all pub- 
lic giving as harmful to both interests. To the 
extent that charities are necessary, He appar- 
ently would prefer them to be operated by the 
church, rather than by the state or by trustees. 
Therefore the following rules may be helpful: 

"i. Give personally and only to those who 
you know will use the money better than if 
spent or invested by you. This means that we 
should be most generous with our employes and 
neighbors. 

"2. Give generously to and through the 
churches in which you take an active part and 
whose principles and purposes you know. 

"3. Give elsewhere sparingly, making sure 
that the money would not do more good if used 
to purchase labor and materials for permanent 
Federal, State, and City improvements." 

INTERCHURCH AND LEGISLATION 

The above is a suggested personal program. The lead- 
ers ot the Interchurch Movement were in no way respon- 
sible therefor. Likewise, the Interchurch Movement had 



THE INTERCHURCH MOVEMENT 141 

no legislative program. But here again many workers 
who were much interested in the Interchurch, have a 
legislative program. It really was first prepared before 
the Interchurch Movement was fully under way by 
Thomas Nixon Carver, of Harvard University, although 
the present form is somewhat different from that orig- 
inally submitted by him. 

Five direct means of action have been suggested. These 
are as follows : 

1. Redistribute unearned wealth. 

(a) By increased taxation of land values. 

(b) By graduated inheritance taxes. 

(c) By control of monopoly prices. 

2. Redistribute human talent. 

By increasing the supply of the higher or scarcer 
forms of talent. 

(a) Vocational education, especially for the 
training of producers. 

(b) Cutting off incomes which support capable 
men in idleness, thus increasing the supply 
of active talent, cf., a, b, and c, under i. 

By decreasing the lower or more abundant forms 
of labor power. 

(a) Restriction of immigration. 

(b) Restriction of marriage. 

(i) Elimination of defectives. 
(2) Requirement of minimum standard 
income. 

(c) Minimum wage law. 

(d) Fixing building standards for dwellings. 

3. Increase of material equipment. 

By increasing the available supply of land. 



142 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

By increasing the supply of capital. 

(a) Thrift versus luxury. 

(b) Saving's institutions. 

(c) Safety of investments. 

(d) "Blue sky" laws. 

4. Create sound public opinion and moral standards 

among the capable. 

By the ideas : 

(a) That leisure is disgraceful; 

(b) Tliat the productive life is the religious 
and moral life; 

(c) That wealth is a tool rather than a means 
of gratification; 

(d) That the possession of wealth conveys no 
license for luxury or leisure; 

(e) That government is a means, not an end. 
By developing better professional standards 

among business men. 

5. Discourage vicious and demoralising developments 

of public opinion, such as: 

1. The cult of incompetence and self-pity. 

2. The gospel of covetousness, or the jealousy of 
success. 

3. The worship of the almighty ballot and the 
almighty dollar. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR RELIGION IN INDUSTRY 

The writer is an optimist even if a statistician. He 
is sure that the world is growing better. There are ups 
and downs like the waves of the ocean; but the great 
broad trend is upward. The truth is that to-day more 
things seem wrong to us than in years gone by. Our 
consciences have been quickened. What we took for 
granted once now seems an injustice. This is especially 
true in law, politics, and international affairs. 

Where once our rulers were consciously self-seeking, 
without regard to justice or humanity, they are now 
merely rudderless, without knowledge of how to turn. 
They no longer do wrong from viciousness; their mis- 
takes are due to ignorance and indifference. Some are 
even hungering for the light. The great opportunity of 
the church is to supply this light and show the people 
the true way out. Both the conservatives and radicals 
are honest in their own sight; and under present condi- 
tions the nation needs both. 

SOURCES OF POWER 

Religion has provided the teal sources of power and 
influence. The old aristocratic families of Europe date 
back to some one who was especially brave or virtuous. 
The aristocratic families of America are *'Sons" and 
"Daughters" of the Revolutionists. Ruling families and 
classes have had their beginnings in pioneering or in 

143 



144 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

revolution. The ancestors to whom the family or dass 
owes its position deserved their power. They earned 
their position as leaders. The harm came when their 
wealth or power descended to children who lacked the 
courage, self-sacrifice, and abihty of their elders. 

We have several times referred to the fact that it is 
only three or four generations from shirt sleeves to shirt 
sleeves. Do not think by this that such reverses are neces- 
sary? Power, courage, and even wealth need not be cor- 
rupting. The difficulty is that after getting these things 
the family or class "kicks down the ladder by which it 
has climbed up"; that is, they forget their religion. They 
trust their power, their armaments, or their wealth in- 
stead of their God. In this connection let me quote from 
Charles Ferguson in his book: "The Revolution 
Absolute" i"^ 

"Jesus is the pivotal personality of the ages 
because He pioneered the way of escape from 
the morbid intellectualism that had complete 
possession of the world of His day. He was cru- 
cified because He was alone in the world and had 
declared war against it. He strove mightily not 
to be alone. He did not intend to be a victim — 
nor refuse to be. His intolerable offense was 
His awful realism — His emphasis of the pre- 
ciousness of incarnate life. He insisted, in the 
teeth of the scribes and doctors — and of 
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle — that the fine 
thing to do with the mind is to enflesh it — to 
spend its force upon living stuff and substance. 
"To think of Jesus as a proletarian reformer, 
champion of the poor, striving to broaden down 

♦Dodd, Mead & Co. 



^^m^-s 



.-g, 



GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR RELIGION IN INDUSTRY 'l;^'' ■' - * -/ 

the social law to the level of the disinherited, ^'^^t^'T..' 

is to bltirtt the point of His world-trans formtnf ^^ ^ 

enterprise. He undertook to normalize society, 
to deliver it from its inherent deadlock — by can- 
celling out the legal fictions that support the 
arbitrary power of incompetents. He set out to 
establish on a basis of social authority the intrin- 
sic and self-vindicating strength of the same. 

''Jesus knew that it had been provided in the 
ground-plan of the world that people who live 
by their legal privileges, in aloofness from the 
life-strugglCj shall decline in intelligence and 
personal force. To say that the servant shall 
ride at length is to prophesy in terms of science. 
It amounts merely to saying that the strong 
shall rule at length. It was possible in either 
of two ways to bring into the light of uni- 
versal acknowledgement the truth that service 
is stranger than privilege, and that goodness and 
power are in the ground-plan of nature one and 
the same thing. The way of the Church was 
that Goadness should go forth into the world 
proclaiming its right of dominion and summon- 
ing the free wills of men to the conquest of the 
Kingdom. 

"The discrepancy is first revealed in the 
yawning of an unbridgable chasm between 
*labor' and 'capital' — between those who live 
by the natural law of physical function and those 
who depend for their existence upon the valida- 
tion of conventional claims. The world will be 
delivered at last from the immemorial deadlock 
between idealism and enterprise; the creative 



140 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

imagination will master the machines in the 
service of art, and of a finer civility than we 
have known. War will come to an end — quite 
incidentally and as a matter of course — with the 
rise of a great religious people emotionally de- 
voted to the creative process and therefore 
sovereign in the realm of chemical and physical 
force. Such a people will hold the hegemony of 
a universal alliance — ^by the diffusion of its 
goodness and by the compulsion of its power." 

RELIGION vs. POLITICS 

There is a common notion that the Radicals in poli- 
tics are those trying to get what they now do not pos- 
sess and that the Conservatives are those trying to hold 
on to what they already have. The truth is that both 
groups are probably equally selfish, and both are equally 
active. The Radicals think they can get more by making 
a change and the Conservatives think they can get more 
by keeping things as they are. They both, however, are 
struggling over a redivision of what is already produced. 
Politics might even be defined as a scramble for the fruits 
of democracy. 

Religion, on the other hand, gives little consideration 
to what is already produced and directs the world's atten- 
tion to the need and duty of producing more. Permit 
me again to quote from Ferguson : 

"The mutual exploitation of classes and 
nations has been the most constant factor of his- 
tory — simply because no class or nation has, up 
to this time, had wisdom and understanding 
enough to turn the passion of its desire directly 



^f^ 



GREAT OPPORTUNITY F5iR RELIGION IN INDUSTRY 147 

Upon the infinite stores of value that art and 
science can unlock. Men have stolen eo^h 
other's clothes and bread, under warrant of 
legal sophistications and the morbid moralities 
of UKir, because they had not sense eiumgh to 
mass their forces for the exploitation of chemis- 
try and physics. There are lush fields a^iid glit^ 
tering palaces hidden in unexploited nature and 
in the fallows of the mind under the briers of 
ancient fears and frauds. Up to this moment 
there has never on earth existed such a thing 
as a class or a social system organized for the 
purpose of PRODUCING wealth. The motive! 
of class interest and the emphasis pi social law 
have left the creative process oil one side, to 
shift as best it might, while the struggle went 
on for the control of the product. We shall 
escape from poverty and war at a point a little 
beyond the moment when the production of 
wealth becomes the direct aim of some political 
party. On the other hand, the world will con- 
tinue to waste its strength under the inexorable 
political law of exploitation, until we escape 
from the illusion that men can act in masses for 
purely ideal or metaphysical ends." 
The church's great opportunity is in becoming this "po- 
litical" party, so to speak. This does not mean a material 
church. The "institutional" church, with its reading 
rooms, shower baths, and movie theater, has been tried 
and has failed. The church must remain spiritual and 
continually keep Jesus and the miraculous in the fore- 
ground. Whenever the church substitutes anything for 
spirituality, its power is gone. But it can direct its people 



148 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

toward great big things as well as little things. Its 
preachers could get behind a powerful co-operative mer- 
chandising organization as well as endorse a toy church 
fair. The churches can as well get the vision of develop- 
ing water power, sewering cities, and building roads as 
of cleaning up their own little grounds. 

Religion was most powerful when it visualized the 
great political and industrial movements. The Reforma- 
tion was really a political revolution for which the church, 
led by Luther, supplied the spiritual vitality. The Pil- 
grims' settlement of America was economic in origin but 
spiritual in impulse. Perhaps another illustration of the 
coming church is the system followed by the Franciscan 
monks in their development of California. Considering 
their lack of knowledge and isolation, their results were 
most astounding. They were a group of ignorant and 
wandering preachers, but they thought and did big 
things. They expressed their spirituality in architecture, 
irrigation canals, and agricultural development. Were 
the churches of to-day using their knowledge and oppor- 
tunity to the extent that they should, poverty would no 
longer exist and the masses of our nation would be truly 
healthy, happy, and prosperous. 

SHRINES vs. FACTORIES 

In the new day the church will cease building shrines 
of stone. As the church blazed the way for schools and 
hospitals, it will blaze the trail for a new business sys- 
tem. It will build beautiful factories and plan new cities. 
It will both conserve and develop the nation's greatest 
resources. The church will operate model mines, &iodel 
factories, and model farms. The great experiment sta- 
tions and laboratories will be backed by the church. 



GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR RELIGION IN INDUSTRY 149 

The church will not be interested in these things 
because it wants to be rich. It will hate riches unless all 
can share them. The church will be interested in these 
things because they are the means by which people 
become healthy, happy, and prosperous. As up-to-date 
churches now have their nurses, so then they will have 
their artists and engineers. 

It is quite impossible to understand the nature of the 
church if one persists in thinking of it as one of the insti- 
tutions of society. Its true character does not appear 
until it begins to be thought of as a great spiritual force 
— the generator of property and power, and the nourish- 
ing mother of the only kind of law that can possibly con- 
quer the feuds of race and class and prevail over wide 
areas. The great war would not have taken place had the 
church retained its original character as creator rather 
than creature of social law. The people of England, 
France, and the United States must now — on peril of the 
submergence of Western culture — put aside their tradi- 
tionary poHtics and grasp the truth that religion holds 
the only solution for the world's troubles. 

SOCIALISM vs. THE CHURCH 

The present system of government is breaking down. 
Monarchies are crumbling, while democracies are unable 
to carry the load. Hence we see the great growth of 
Socialism, Bolshevism, I. W. W.ism, and other new 
forms of government. The arrest, deportation, and per- 
secution of these mistaken people will not remedy the 
^tuation. No one should know this better than the stu- 
dents of church history. The persecution which the 
church itself suffered and survived should prevent it from 
inflicting such trouble upon others. The fact is that our 



150 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

presGsrtt infers have failed to solve the problems of the 
day, and the masses in their ignorance are turning to the 
Socialistic cults. 

Many of the Socialists are honest and conscientious. 
The need is to convert them rather than make them more 
bitter. Men cannot be converted by abuse. Men can be 
converted only by appealing to their hearts and their 
intellects. With many people Socialism is a form of 
religion. Like some other dangerous beliefs, the effect 
of preaching it is often harmful. There are ten reasons 
why the preaching of Socialism is harmful. 

(i) Socialism directs people's minds from the pro- 
duction of wealth to rather the division of wealth. The 
fact that there is only enough already produced to keep 
civilization going a few months, shows that this is a very 
dangerous doctrine. 

(2) Socialism sets class against class, although the 
solution of our industrial problems will come about only 
through coHDperation. 

(3) Socialism directs the thought of the people to the 
symptoms of the disease instead of the cause. 

(4) Socialism gives the underworld a dose of mor- 
phia to keep it feeling good when it really needs a sur- 
gical operation. 

(5) Socialism tries to set aside the law of supply and 
demand which always has determined, which does, and 
which always will determine production and prices. 

(6) Socialism gives a wrong reason for government 
ownership. The government should engage only in such 
activities and pass such laws as are necessary to give 
the individual the fullest opportunity for self-determina- 
tion. To the extent that government ownership can g^ive 



GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR RELIGION IN INDUSTRY 151 

man more freedom of expression, to that extent govern- 
ment ownership should be encouraged ; but when govern- 
ment ownership tends to repress individual initiative and 
development, it loses its effectiveness. 

(7) Socialism sets aside the only known method of 
selecting the fittest. Socialism tends to substitute votes 
for efficiency. Socialism would operate a horse-race by 
walking the horses back and forth in front of the grand- 
stand and then would determine the winner by voting 
instead of by racing the horses. 

(8) Socialism discourages thrift. Capital is only 
stored-up wages. The only permanent way that men can 
create work for themselves is by investing their money 
rather than by spending it. The world needs more capital 
instead of less capital. 

(9) Socialism stands for the pig-trough philosophy 
rather than for the work-bench philosophy. It may be 
Christian in its conception, but it is pagan in its 
operation. 

(10) Socialism talks about the rights of people instead 
of the duties of people. The great need to-day is to preach 
duty and responsibility. 

The Socialist program aims at approximate equaliza- 
tion of income and the abolition of competition in the 
struggle for life. Is this desirable, even if attainable ? The 
real producing force is enterprise. This consists of plan- 
ning, initiating, controlling the process, and assuming 
responsibility for the result. Can this factor "enterprise" 
be induced to function to the love of workmanship or to 
devotion to the group, except it has the motive of either 
private profit or religion ? 

Socialism is a splendid structure without a power plant. 
There are but two known sources of human power. 



152 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

These are personal profit and religion. The present sys- 
tem of g^overnment and business is based upon the per- 
sonal-profit plan. This system has failed. The great 
opportunity before the church is to present and operate 
a system based upon religion. All absolute rights of per- 
sons and property are being swept away. Vested interests 
are to be reconceived in terms of service. The teachings 
of Jesus are to become the laws of finance, industry, and 
commerce. Shall the church lead or follow in this move- 
ment ? Let me quote again : 

"Because of our stubborn misunderstanding 
of the process whereby the control of credit, 
commerce, and the organs of intelligence is 
being transferred from unsocial centers to cen- 
ters of social responsibility, there is danger of 
great damage to the legitimate claims of those 
who have invested their money and their moral 
and mental faith in the old order. Such is the 
warning that should be read in the present state 
of the securities market. We should make haste 
to transform our low-powered productive sys- 
tem, now overburdened with investors' claims, 
into a high-powered system that can sustain 
them. If we refuse to cancel the bad system we 
must cancel the claims that it is unable to bear. 
We shall enter into the new order without the 
gravest travail if we succeed in effecting the 
change before the honest debts of the old order 
have been written ruthlessly off the books. The 
latent powers of organized art and science are 
practically infinite, and in their religious devel- 
opment they will prove to be irresistible. The 



GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR RELIGION IN INDUSTRY 153 

spirit of the university, turning its back upon 
the cloister and taking tools and weapons in its 
hands, will be revealed as the strong mother of 
the race, tO' whom proud dynasties and rebel- 
lious mobs are only as little children." 

It appears that religion is intrinsically stronger than 
politics, because it deals immediately with the forces of 
nature and of life, while politics must deal with these 
things at second hand — unless, indeed, we can content 
ourselves with martial law. 

Why were the business communities of England, 
France, and the United States willing — even eager — to 
suspend their customary constitution and by-laws "until 
the end of the war" ? Because they knew in their hearts 
that the administration of elemental forces on a private- 
profit basis is a most wasteful and enfeebling method of 
social control. 

America is the motherland of big business because it 
is the land where the power of the old politics — the poli- 
tics that does not concern itself to produce goods but 
only to divide them — has had the narrowest constitu- 
tional restriction. When Mr. Sabin, President of the 
Guaranty Trust Company, said to the bankers' conven- 
tion at Atlantic City that the credit power of business 
communities ought to be pooled, and administered on a 
basis of financial priority in favor of the concerns that 
best serve the commonwealth, he uncovered to the light 
of day the church's great opportunity. But alas ! the sug- 
gestion was offered only as a ''war measure," and the 
tone was that of a patriotic citizen ready to do extraor- 
dinary things for his country. 

We have never really given our minds to the produc- 



154 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

tion of goods. On Sundays we talk service in our 
churches; but on the other six days we talk only profits 
at our farms, factories, and stores. Our present system 
is not created for the production of goods, but only for 
the securing of profits. Jesus anticipated this and warned 
against it. Now we see clearly that the **production-for- 
profit" system has failed, and for it must be substituted 
the *'production-for-service" system founded by Jesus, 
and of which the church is trustee. 

THE POSITION OF INVESTORS 

"A sufficient reason why the financial under- 
writing process will not in the future be worked 
merely to pile up overhead charges upon the 
general working plant in order to increase the 
incomes of investors is that the interest of in- 
vestors cannot any longer be served in that way. 
As things stand, all securities have been made 
insecure because of the enormous bulk of fixed 
charges that the war has laid upon the industrial 
organization. It will be necessary vastly to in- 
crease the productive power of industry — if only 
to validate the securities. We have our choice; 
we can scale down the existing vested claims, 
or else produce a better and stronger system that 
will be able to sustain them. The financial 
agents who have been accustomed to represent 
the interests of organized ownership ought, of 
their own motion and for the protection of in- 
vestors, to be eager to turn over the initiative 
of enterprise into the hands of industrial engi- 
neers and professional organizers of industry. 



GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR RELIGION IN INDUSTRY 155 

"Washington and Wall Street have been at 
war for a generation. Both sides were right, 
and both were wrong. Washington was right 
in insisting that business must have a public 
purpose; but wrong in supposing that such a 
purpose can be imposed by the police. Wall 
Street was right in its struggle for liberty, but 
intolerably wrong in its bias for the leisure 
class, and its absorption in what the blurting 
English law calls 'Unearned incomes.' The 
social sovereignty of business has three terms 
that correspond in a general way with legisla- 
tive, executive, and judicial offices. These are, 
first, control of the organs of information — for 
the appraisal of resources, opportunities, and 
events; second, administration of credit — for 
the appraisal of persons and projects; third, 
command of the market — for the! appraisal of 
goods." 

A church leading these three powers with a single eye 
to the mobilization of productive forces could, in a mat- 
ter of months, quadruple the economic energy of the 
United States, and then go on to higher altitudes. Thus 
empowered, America could dictate the terms of a uni- 
versal and permanent peace, because of its evident 
strength in spirituality and tools. This does not mean 
that the church should operate newspapers, banks, and 
markets; but that it should direct their policies. 

It is a great mistake to measure the productivity of a 
nation or group by the census figures of a statistician. 
The world will never be saved by statistics. A thousand 



156 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

men filled with the spirit of religion would produce more 
than a hundred thousand without such a spirit. Many 
bankers still think that a community's capital consists 
only of the sum of its existing physical property; but 
i they are making a great mistake. They forget that even 

modern finance is based primarily upon spiritual and cre- 
ative forces rather than upon physical structures or exist- 
ing goods. Factories are only liabilities when idle, and 
goods are of no use except there are buyers. The truly 
great bankers are those who can select the right col- 
lateral. Next to the preacher, the banker has the greatest 
opportunity of any one in the community to direct enter- 
prise along worth-while lines. Credit administration is a 
great responsibility. For banks to descend to only mer- 
chandising propositions is a great mistake. 

If a group of men had enough energy, science, and 
social understanding to create a commanding organ of 
intelligence — a news service that should be generally ac- 
cepted as authoritative — no opposing group of financiers 
could stand against them ; the power of finance and com- 
merce would pass into their hands. Or if the whole pur- 
chasing power of a community could be organized and 
vested in representative persons, they would control also 
the press and the banks. One should infer from such 
consideration that the three powers are normally con- 
centric, that they are the natural components of the gov- 
ernment of the working world, just as executive, legis- 
lative, and judiciary constitute another kind of govern- 
ment. The belief in the strength of a socially incompetent 
financial power is erroneous because of the falsity of its 
initial assumption that ownership of capital goods is the 
controlling factor in finance and industry. The control- 
ling factor is organised productive power. The financier 



GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR RELIGION IN INDUSTRY 157 

rules, not because he is the trustee of those who own 
goods, hut because he is permitted to act for those who 
own productive pozver. There is no reason why indus- 
trial engineers and those who are adepts in marshalling 
men for the conquest of materials shoidd not cast off the 
yoke of organized ownership — as men walk out of prison 
when the doors are open. The passing- of administrative 
control from the agents of those who would live by their 
past to the agents of those whose hands are actually upon 
the levers, has now become a pressing and imperative 
necessity. 

Let us keep away from civil service and bureaucracy 
of every nature. The strength of our nation is not in 
the obedient man. Social unrest is a good sign. To be 
without it would mean stagnation and deterioration. The 
future lies with the men and women whO' will not do 
what they are told, but will do more and better. The 
solution of our problems will come about not through 
protection, but through production; not through fear, 
but through faith; not through establishments, but 
through mobilization; not through legislation, but 
through religion. 

Under the pressure of war, all the nations learned that 
the control of credit, commerce, and the news service 
were legitimate social powers, yet needing a socializa- 
tion that is in harmony with the teachings of Jesus. Thus, 
taught by the world's travail, the individual is prepared 
to understand that there need be no wealth that is not 
capital, and that "all expenditure that does not nourish 
the creative spirit and further the creative process is a 
waste not merely of goods, but of life. He becomes con- 
tent with the income that belongs to the rank of his office. 
The question of profits becomes an impertinence. In thy 



/ 



158 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

world of modern business, men care for profits only 
because the system in its present state would exclude them 
from power if they did not" 

In bringing- about these changes the church must insist 
that those who have the spiritual vision shall control 
rather than those who have inherited the property. The 
church* must eliminate the injustices of the present proxy 
system and the mistakes of absentee ownership. The 
church must insist that the agents of wealth shall sit at 
the foot of the directors' table and that the engineers who 
produce that wealth shall sit at the head. The church 
must insist that its principles shall rule the banks, the 
markets, and the disseminators of news. 

There would of course be no labor problem in a com- 
munity governed by the teachings of Jesus, and if we 
made the incomes of leisure truly the reward of saving 
and abstinence as they pretend to be. Moreover, such 
policies would avoid the industrial and business panics, 
prostrations, and disasters. The great leaders of the 
church have, consciously or unconsciously, brought us 
where we are to-day. All the good things which we have 
to-day we owe directly or indirectly to the church. It has 
been the selfishness of men which has kept the world poor 
in material goods. 

While reformers cry for a redistribution of goods, the 
fact remains that no nation has ever yet produced enough 
physical goods to feed, clothe, and house the whole of its 
population properly. Some say to-day that we have solved 
the problem of production, but not the problem of distri- 
bution. That is not true, as we consume year by year 
practically all we produce. Certainly the excesses of the 
rich would not nearly supply what the poor lack. 

Nations have been organized to fight, to enforce 



GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR RELIGION IN INDUSTRY 159 

justice, and to give equal opportunity; but never has a 
nation been organized to pray and serve. There is no 
need of organizing a new nation. America is plastic 
enough for the church to work upon. But there is need 
of reorganizing the present America along such economic 
lines of service as true religion demands. 



CHAPTER XII 

HOW WE ALL COULD HAVE MUCH MORE THAN WE HAVE 

TO-DAY 

The people of America are working* at about 20 per 
cent, efficiency. Yet all could have five times what they 
now have if they were filled with the spirit of religion. 
Over 80 per cent, of the people of our country give httle 
attention to increasing production or improving the means 
of distribution. They are looking for a certain rate of 
dividend or a certain rate of wages. Neither investor nor 
wag-e worker is giving much thought to what can be pur- 
chased with this standard dividend or wage. If a certain 
stock is paying 6 per cent., the investor is satisfied, even 
though his income will purchase only half what it pur- 
chased formerly. The wage earner thinks he is securing 
a victory when he obtains an increase in wages, even 
though the new wage will not purchase any more than 
did the old wage. 

The people of this country are losing sight of the great- 
est and most important factor; namely, the value of serv- 
ice. All are giving little thought to the so-called third 
party, the consumer, which party is really both capital 
and labor combined. Yet the ultimate value of any wage 
or dividend depends upon what that wage or dividend is 
worth to us as consumers. In order to benefit ourselves, 
we must first benefit the other fellow. Profit is simply a 
reaction from service. 

The American people thus far have been trying to 
progress by turning the Sermon on the Mount upside 

160 



HOW WE COULD HAVE MORE THAN WE HAVE TO-DAY 161 

down and backside foremost. We have been ignoring 
tJie consumers and hence we have been ignoring our- 
selves. We all must learn that each can ultimately help 
himself only as both co-operate to help the community as 
a whole. As we co-operate to help the community, a reac- 
tion will come which will truly help us. Nature 
makes no distinction in distributing her rewards and 
punishments. 

In this chapter a few things will be mentioned which 
might happen if there were a real fusion of religion and 
business. What we have to-day, beyond what our ances- 
tors had a hundred years ago, is due not to labor unions 
or trusts, not to tariffs or other protections, but to im- 
proved methods of producing and distributing the neces- 
sities and comforts of life. Neither capital nor labor by 
itself has done this. It has come about through 
religion, — mutual co-operation in the service of all. 

Manual labor is necessary, but manual labor alone is 
entitled to very little credit for the homes, clothing, food, 
and comforts of to-day. The spirit of service as exhibited 
in invention, initiative, imagination and courage have 
given us these things. It is because we — as investors and 
workers — have almost lost this spirit that we are not 
getting more to-day. If ever we wake up and realize this 
fact, then we all should have five times the comforts and 
necessities that we have to-day. A few illustrations of 
things which experts state are entirely possible may be of 
interest. These things will come about when the church 
awakens to its opportunity. 

TWENTY ILLUSTRATIONS 

I. Clothes could he as cheap as hooks. There is no 
reason why the suits for both men and women could not 



162 



KELIGION AND BUSINESS 



be manufactured as quickly as newspapers if manufac- 
turers and consumers would co-operate to standardize 
their requirements. Then Henry A. Wise- Wood could 
do for the clothing- industry what he has done for the 
printing" industry. Then a good suit of clothes, or a good 
dress, could be purchased for a few dollars, while under- 
clothes should sell for about the present cost of launder- 
ing. Then every one could both have more clothes and 
get them at less expense, patterned by tne world's best 
designers. 

2. Garden weeds could be entirely abolished if land 
owners would only co-operate to destroy them before 
they go to seed. Statistics show that more energy is ex- 
pended to-day in killing weeds than in any other one 
thing. There are great quantities of land available for 
agricultural purposes and seed is very inexpensive. The 
main reason why food products are so high is because 
of the manual labor involved in fighting weeds and in- 
sects. There is no reason why an agricultural section 
cannot be entirely freed of these things as the Panama 
Canal Zone has been freed from mosquitoes. Do you ever 
think of the reason why the things we want to raise re- 
quire such care and the weeds seem to grow of them- 
selves ? In most cases the reason is that we pick the flower 
or fruit of the good things, so they cannot seed them- 
selves, while we let the weeds go to seed. Co-operating 
to eliminate the weeds would not only greatly reduce the 
labor involved in agricultural work, but would also savts 
the goodness of the ground for edible vegetables. Witr 
proper and scientific treatment of the soil, such work 
should easily reduce the first cost of food products 80 
per cent. 

Some day man will convert the sun's power to hig 



HOW WE COULD HAVE MORE THAN WE HAVE TO-DAY 163 

own uses; plants will be grown so that they will taste 
exactly as the grower desires them to taste. Potatoes can 
be made to acquire the taste of canteloupes and carrots 
to approximate pomegranates. Some one has said: 
''When people are truly religious it should be possible 
to fill the Desert of Sahara with plant life, so that the 
nations of the earth could get a menu from soup to nuts, 
with a bottle of wine thrown in, at less than the cost of a 
ham sandwich." 

3. Electricity could he generated directly from the 
tides of the ocean. All our food should be cooked, our 
houses should be heated, and most labor should be done, 
even in the poorest of homes-, by electricity. To-day elec- 
tricity is a luxury because by the present roundabout 
method of manufacture and distribution, 80 per cent, of 
the coal's heat goes up the chimney and is wasted, while 
the efficiency of our present water-power plants is not 
much better. Experts state that some time improved 
methods of manufacture and distribution will enable us 
to have five times the quantity of electricity which we 
now have for the same amount of money. Think how 
this would save work in households, stores, and fac- 
tories. Perhaps this will come about through the har- 
nessing of the tides. Not only is the ocean a great source 
of power, but also of chemical wealth. We climb moun- 
tains and dig great holes in the earth to obtain chemicals 
which are washing our shores every moment of the day. 
The power and wealth of the sea, which covers three- 
quarters of the globe and is now almost wholly unused, 
should be utilized. 

4. Man would live much longer than he does if he 
would think of others as himself. Statistics show that 
there is no physiological reason why the useful years of 



164 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

the average man should not be double what they are 
to-day. We wrongly take it for granted that when a 
person reaches a certain age his useful days are over. 
The reason why we do not live longer is not so much 
because we do not take care of ourselves as because we 
do not co-operate to help the other fellow. One is 
astounded when studying statistics to see the tremendous 
waste which comes from needless accident and disease. 

Not only is this a direct waste, but also' an indirect 
waste. I refer to the fact that the inefficiency 'and lack 
of ambition exhibited by 80 per cent, of the people is 
due to unsound physical condition. The Creator intended 
that we all should be well. Nature is doing all she can to 
keep us healthy. Some day we shall co-operate with 
Nature and with one another and be healthy. Some re- 
markable studies along this line are now being made by 
one of the Rockefeller Foundations. 

5. Great developments will take place in the study and 
control of climatic changes. To-day men burn coal in win- 
ter to keep warm and then burn coal in summer to keep 
cool. It is true that an infinitesimal amount of cold is 
to-day stored during the winter in the form of ice for use 
in summer. Remarkable results may be possible in better 
distributing the different qualities of climate. Scientists 
state that the heat of the tropics will some day be used to 
warm the' northern countries, and both sections will be 
made much more comfortable and productive at all times 
of the year. To-day different sections co-operate to fore- 
tell climatic changes. Our descendants will be able to 
utilize and perhaps control climatic changes. A religious 
treatment of the forests not only would insure a supply 
for our children, but would protect our streams and per- 
haps influence the rainfall. 



HOW WE COULD HAVE MORE THAN WE HAVE TO-DAY 165 

6. Chemical research probably offers the greatest 
opportunity of any kind of scientific work to-day. Every 
tree in the forests, the soil in our yard, the air that we 
breathe — all these things contain properties of immense 
value and wonderful possibilities. Some day we shall 
unlock these storehouses. Radium sells to-day for thou- 
sands of dollars an ounce. A century hence radium may 
be as cheap as sodium. A hundred years ago who would 
have thought that from coal tar could be made the most 
beautiful dyes of every conceivable color, or that from 
common clay could be made aluminum, the lightest of 
metals? We think wonderful things have been done in 
chemistry, and yet hardly a beginning has yet been made. 
In Brazil there are over four hundred species of trees 
and shrubs of which no one knows the names. Any one 
of these may have properties as wonderful as the rubber 
tree or the sugar cane. 

Rubber, for instance, should sell very much cheaper 
than it does. The present method of securing rubber is 
simply temporary. Some day rubber will be raised as an 
annual crop, developed from something like the milk 
weed. Theii our floors could be of rubber, our side- 
walks could be of rubber, and even our streets could be 
of rubber. Think of the tremendous waste which occurs 
through rust. Some day rust will be a thing of the past, 
like cholera, or smallpox. It makes one tingle to think 
of the comforts within our reach if we would only become 
actuated by the spirit of religion. 

7. The effects of color shoidd be used to a much greater 
extent. We could make this world very beautiful with 
little effort or expense if we only would. One hundred 
years from now no one man will want to paint his house 
yellow and another man paint his adjoining house red. 



166 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

The possibilities of color are to-day recognized by only a 
few people. Color, architecture, and music have vast 
potentialities that only religion can unlock. From a 
beauty point of view, no one will dispute that our cities, 
homes, and very persons are less than 20 per cent, effi- 
cient, and that this is primarily due to our lack of religion. 
Our cities are to-day where industry was when nails were 
made by hand and when matches were unknown. 

8. The production of nuts will be increased a hundred- 
fold. Why does corn sell for a dollar a bushel and nuts 
for ten dollars a bushel, when an acre of land will bear 
more nuts than corn? The reason is that our ancestors, 
v/hen they came to this country, were in a hurry for a 
crop. They had not the patience to wait and raise nuts. 
They raised something which would give them a crop in 
the shortest period of time, and that was corn. We have 
been blindly following them. Some day religion will free 
us from this custom. Then nuts will become a great 
staple article of food, increasing the health and efficiency 
of the people at a greatly reduced cost. Moreover, as nuts 
are substituted for meats, the health of all may be greatly 
improved. 

How many of us select our food in accordance with its 
strength and brain-producing elements? Our food con- 
ditions to-day are where the transportation conditions 
were in the days of the ox-cart. We eat our eggs instead 
of letting them hatch and become hens ; we kill our calves 
instead of letting them grow to maturity; we insist on 
eating lamb and then wonder why wool costs so much 
more than it used to. What manufacturer would think 
of selling, continually destroying, or consuming his pro- 
ducing machinery? Yet, owing to lack of regard for 



HOW WE COULD HAVE MORE THAN WE HAVE TO-DAY 167 

Others, this is what we are doing all the time with our 
domestic animals. 

9. Eighty per cent, of the loss which comes from decay 
could he abolished if we would he careful to save. One 
reason why meats, vegetables, fruits, etc., are so high i? 
because of the great waste of what is unused. Much of 
this decay could be entirely done away with. Dried fruits 
and vegetables could be used to a far greater extent, 
while canning is simply in its infancy. Laziness and 
ignorance, with a lack of regard for others, is at the bot- 
tom of most spoiled food, sour milk, and other waste. 

10. The real power of public opinion is almost dor- 
mant, owing to our lack of religion. A very small body 
of men with united religious effort could outweigh the 
wishes of a hundred million people. The great mass of 
people do not want to continue poor and inefficient, as at 
present. One per cent, of the people — filled with religion 
— could control the wishes of the remaining 99 per cent., 
if the latter were unorganized or unable to create and use 
public opinion. 

11. But in order for each of us to have five times what 
we have to-day, there must he a change in the system of 
distributing goods. The little specialty store must go the 
way of the stagecoach. The chain store has the economic 
possibilities of the steam engine or the telephone. It is 
based on the saving that comes from co-operative buying 
and management. Co-operative stores are on the increase 
and should be encouraged. If stores were open only three 
hours a day instead of nine, they could sell just as many 
goods as they do to-day. It would simply necessitate that 
people should buy in greater quantities and that goods 
should be more standardized. There are a few things, 



168 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

like coal for the furnace, that households ouy economic- 
ally by ordering a season's supply delivered at one time. 
Flour, sugar, and especially all forms of canned or pack- 
age goods should be bought in the same way. The house- 
wife should co-operate with the merchant in stocking her 
house with food, linen, and other supplies. 

12. Heat and light present great fields for research. 
Reference has already been made to the great possibili- 
ties of radium. The energy of sunlight can in some way 
be utilized and stored. The present tremendous waste 
through generating heat in order to produce light will 
some day be overcome. What Nature is doing through 
the little firefly and the great Northern Lights, men 
should do. In this there would be a tremendous saving 
in power and discomfort. Cold light is sure to be used 
some day in every household. 

13. When religion becomes a real part of life, there 
will he new relations betzveen employers atid employes. 
;These new relations alone should increase, production 
greatly. Various plans already exist. Some provide for 
giving the employes a share in both the management and 
profits, while others provide only for dividing the profits 
with the employes. All of these plans, however, are 
mechanical. They lack religion. When religion enters 
the factory and the hearts of the employer and his wage 
workers, the work will be better done, waste will be elim- 
inated, fewer tools will be lost or broken, and the cost 
of manufacture will be greatly reduced. The machinery 
of our mills has been nearly perfected. The next great 
series of inventions will be in connection with developing 
real co-operation among employers, employes, and the 
trade. Only when religion enters industry will the great 

waste which comes from strikes and lockouts be elim- 



HOW WE COULD HAVE MORE THAN WE HAVE TO-DAY 169 

inated. Only through religion will it be possible to do 
away with the hundreds of thousands of clerks and fore- 
men who are now employed simply to watch the other 
employes, to prevent loafing, stealing, and poor work- 
manship. 

Religion can also perform a great work in commerce 
as well as in industry. Competing business men who for 
years have been abusing one another have learned to 
respect and even love one another when they have been 
touched with the Spirit of Jesus. The possibilities of 
^'Co-operative Competition," as it is called, should be 
studied by every business man. Briefly, such plans are 
based simply on the teachings of Jesus. They demon- 
strate that trust reacts ai^ trust, and confidence as confi- 
dence; while distrust is always the reaction from distrust 
and abuse reacts as abuse. Business men who have never 
succeeded by the cutthroat methods are to-day prosper- 
ing through co-operative methods. They are finding that 
it pays to love one's enemies and that the Golden Rule is 
good business. 

14. A universal language with phonetic spelling offers 
great possibilities. To-day we laugh at those who are urg- 
ing the teaching of esperanto (and the introduction of 
phonetic spelling) in the schools of all nations. But a 
universal religion may require a universal language. 
Then there can be a real League of Nations. After this 
comes about, the next step will be to eliminate the eco- 
nomic causes of war, pull down the tariffs and other bar- 
riers which are so expensive for all, and co-operate in 
greater production and cheaper distribution. 

Phonetic spelling in itself opens wonderful possibili- 
ties. A book of six hundred pages when reprinted in pho- 
netic spelling would contain less than five hundred pages. 



170 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

The man who uses six t)^ewriters would then need only 
five, and so on. Machines are already invented that will 
turn the voice into typewritten words as soon as phonetic 
spelling is adopted. This would at once eliminate the 
need of shorthand work and many forms of other clerical 
work. Then it would be necessary only to talk into a 
machine and the finished product would come out in type- 
written form. 

15. Although many are no monger sweeping a floor 
with an ordina/ry broom, we still sweep the streets with 
a street szueeper. Universal cleaning with air suction is 
coming. The day is surely coming when we shall pipe 
our cities with vacuum pipes for cleaning as well as to 
pipe them for water, sewerage, and gas. Such a system 
would not only reduce housework greatly, but would 
make the entire community far more healthy by the de- 
struction of bacteria and the elimination of disease. But 
the vacuum cleaner is only one of many useful machines 
which it would well pay the community to provide for its 
citizens. 

16. The study of bacteria is still in its infancy. We 
have learned of a few bad bacteria, but little is being said 
about good bacteria. The bacilli which cause typhoid 
fever and tuberculosis have been discovered; but we hear 
nothing about the bacilli which develop ambition, brains, 
imagination, and the great constructive forces. Yet why 
should not men be inoculated to develop mental efficiency 
as well as physical? Thus far the serum treatment has 
been in the hands only of the medical fraternity, but why 
should it not be used by educators as well ? May not the 
present system of education be where medicine was in 
the days of the Indian doctor? Certainly, no man would 
dare suggest that the present system of letting the feeble- 



HOW WE COULD HAVE MORE THAN WE HAVE TO-DAY 171 

minded multiply freely will long continue. At least 50 
per cent, of the present poverty could be entirely abolished 
by such methods. 

The cost to the nation of unnecessary death and illness 
IS over two billion dollars annually. Religion would 
lengthen human efficiency over fifteen years. The most 
alarrning tendency which demands special care and effort 
on the part of the nation as a whole is the increase of the 
degenerative diseases. These diseases are due primarily 
to the fact that men seek money and pleasure rather than 
God. Religion would mean the removal of our social 
vices, especially the sex and drug habits. 

Religion will make better conditions for women's work 
and prevent their employment before and after childbirth. 
We must regulate the age at which children shall be em- 
ployed. We must make reasonable regulations in regard 
to all hours of labor and against dangers of dust and 
poisonous chemicals. We must make regulations for 
sanitation, and provide inspection of factories, schools, 
and other public institutions. An important co-operative 
measure looking toward the accomplishment of all these 
ends and just now being pushed in this country is health 
insurance for working people. Proper housing conditions 
must be provided, with sufficient light and air to insure 
health, and sufficient room to insure decency. Professor 
King of the University of Wisconsin shows that some- 
thing like two-thirds of our population have no wealth 
except the clothes on their backs and a little furniture 
and personal belongings, while the major part of the 
nation's wealth is owned by less than 2 per cent, of the 
population. 

17. Think how much if would add to the productivity 
of the world if each one of us were doing the job for 



172 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

which we are best fitted and in which we had a fair aP" 
portunity of developing."^ Fully 80 per cent, of the 
people to-day are at their present occupations by mere 
chance or force of circumstances. Men are not doing 
their present work because it is the work they like best 
or can do best. Some day this will all be changed by new 
systems of education and taxation. This change alone 
will result in giving us at least double what we get to-day 
for a dollar. Statistics teach that most of the failures, 
disappointments, and troubles of life are due to men and 
women getting into work for which they are unfitted. 
The hard laws of supply and demand and reward and 
punishment gradually rectify these errors, but great waste 
and suffering are caused by the process. For instance, 
there are 2,250,000 farmers striving for a bare existence 
on farms of less than fifty acres, while four-fifths of the 
area of the large holdings is being held out of active 
service by the 50,000 owners. 

Some day men will be selected and trained with the 
good care which is now given to hogs and cattle. Some 
day we shall learn that when our neighbor makes a loss, 
a part of it necessarily comes on us; while our neighbor 
cannot prosper without our benefiting also. Then we shall 
be as interested in the welfare of our neighbor's chil- 
dren as in our own. The work now being done in the 

* Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt says that of the millions of pupils 
entering our grade schools yearly one-half never finish the course, 
only 5 per cent, enter the high schools, only one-eighth of 1 per 
cent, go to technical schools, and about four-fifths of 1 per 
cent, get a college training. 

It is reported that one-half of the male wage earners in 
the United States earn less than $1,200 a year, and that of the 
eight million women workers, two-thirds receive less than $12 
a week and one-half less than $9 a week. On the other hand, 
there are 5,000 American fortunes yielding $100,000 or more 
annually and over 100 yielding $1,000,000 or more annually. 



HOW WE COULD HAVE MORE THAN WE HAVE TO-DAY 173 

lines of vocational guidance, industrial education, and 
part-time instruction is a step toward this end. 

Not only is happiness a great means to an end, from 
an efficiency point of view, but may it not be an end in 
itself? Not only should each of us be doing the work in 
which we would be most happy, but when we are happy 
in our work, isn't the big problem of life nearly solved? 
We talk about multiplicity of machinery, steam and water 
power, miles of track, and fleets of ships, and all these 
things as if they were ends in themselves. They are sim- 
ply means to an end. The real end, namely, happiness, is 
often overlooked. 

1 8. Standardisation still offers great opportunities. 
Whenever we buy a standard article, we help every one 
else to get that article for less money. Whenever we buy 
some other kind of an article, we compel all others to pay 
a little more. Owing to the standardization of certain 
makes of watches, we can buy a good one for a few dol- 
lars, which would cost twenty times as much if made 
to order. Yet when we buy certain furnishings for our 
houses, we still insist on having things a little different 
from our neighbors. The different items carried by dry 
goods, hardware, and other stores could be reduced 80 
per cent, by standardization. This would bring about 
price reduction and improved products. When it comes 
to large things, such as furniture, houses, ships, and cars, 
the money which could be saved by standardizing is 
beyond comprehension. 

19. The force of fashion should he used to reduce 
cost. We see every day the powerful forces of habit 
and fashion. People will throw away a good dress or 
hat and substitute for it an inferior one merely because 
*he style has changed. A change in style will ruin an 



174 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

industry. Here the psychological power is seen working" 
every day. We may preach against it and talk against it 
without avail. Some day, however, a genius will arise 
who will capitalize the instinct to follow fashion in its 
present ways and use the same psychic force along con- 
structive lines. Perhaps the only reason why it is being 
used, as to-day, along destructive lines is because a 
constructive outlet has not yet been discovered. 

20. Finally, great opportunities exist to make people 
healthier, happier, and more prosperous by simply steady- 
ing business conditions. As long as there are abnormal 
booms, there must be abnormal panics; but there is no 
need whatever for either. As long as people bid up prices 
to much above their real value, they must later sell at 
prices much below. A pendulum never comes to equilib- 
rium with an abrupt movement from one side to the cen- 
ter. The material, physical, and spiritual loss to the world 
from the overwork periods and the no-work periods is 
tremendous. When machinery and men are idle, the pub- 
lic pays the bills in higher prices later. The common idea 
that prosperity comes by "giving industry a rest," closing 
down mills and discharging men, is ridiculous. All this 
loss can be abolished at any time when we are willing to 
put religion into our business. 

Not only can these hard times periods be eliminated, 
but such business changes as are desirable can be clearly 
foretold. Statistics and charts are now available which 
would enable business to avoid 80 per cent, of its pitfalls 
if men would only co-operate to do so. Some day this 

will come about. 

People say that the teachings of the "Sermon on the 
Mount" are not practical. Who knows? Where have 
they been given a fair trial ? Certainly the present system 



HOW WE COULD HAVE MORE THAN WE HAVE TO-DAY 175 

of ignoring- Jesus* teaching's has not produced satisfac- 
tory results. Look at the conditions of to-day. The dock- 
ets of our courts are full of suits, divorces, and troubles 
of every nature. Conflicts are taking place between cap- 
ital and labor as if one were the natural enemy of the 
other. The nations of the world are engaged in combats 
and misunderstandings. 

For generations we have been working by the pres- 
ent short-sighted policy of ignoring true religion. 
Wouldn't it be worth while as a scientific experiment now 
to consider the application of such precep'vs to every-day 
life? When this is done, most of these other things above 
mentioned are bound to follow. Jesus' statement as 
recorded in Matthew, 6th chapter, 33rd verse, was 
founded on scientific reasoning. 



CHAPTER XIII 

CAN RELIGION BE SUBSIDIZED? 

Reports on individuals strongly suggest that, at 
heart, all normal people have about the same instincts 
and desires. The difference in people is largdy a ques- 
tion of their religious insight and their religious intelli- 
gence. 

Certain business men think they can be happiest by 
considering only themselves, without regard tO' the wel- 
fare of others. More intelligent men recognize that their 
own welfare is very dependent on the welfare of others. 
The first group are called "selfish" and the latter group 
are called "unselfish''; but both groups may be actuated 
by the same motives. The difference lies in the religious 
intelligence and foresight of the two groups. You do 
things which seem to others like sacrifice; but the real 
truth is that you would rather do these things than not. 

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHING 

I was taught when a boy that, as a Christian, I could 
go to heaven; but no inducement was ever held out to 
me that it paid on this earth to be good. Whether or not 
my good Sunday school teachers believed it, I do not 
know; but they never taught it. Furthermore, when I 
b€gan the economic study of cause and effect, I felt that 
much of what had been taught me was both unscientific 
and unchristian. Then I saw that all normal people are 
seeking the -same end, and that the real need is to get 
people to realize the means by which this end can 

176 



) 




CAN RELIGION BE SUBSIDIZED 179 

best be attained. Let me now go further by asking: 
(i) Shouldn't we cease teaching right for right's sake? 

(2) When the context is given proper consideration, is it 
not found that Jesus' teachings were distinctly utilitarian? 

(3) Didn't Jesus urge men to give, promising that things 
might be given to them, "good measure, pressed down, 
and running over"; to forgive in order that they them- 
selves might be forgiven? Take my yoke and carry my 
burden, urged Jesus. Why? Because "my yoke is easy 
and my burden is light." An impartial reading of the 
Scriptures should convince any one that this clearly was 
Jesus' method of approach. Even when He urged hearers 
not to worry about food, clothing, and shelter, He made 
clear that if they would seek first the kingdom of heaven, 
all the material things would be added unto them. 

Years ago, in most of our churches heaven was held 
up as a reward and hell as a punishment. To-day, when 
attending church, one hears little of this doctrine. If the 
old "heaven and hell" doctrine is to be given up, it is very 
necessary that we offer to the people some substantial 
inducement for living differently. The church must soon 
return to the original utilitarian teachings of Jesus. Sta- 
tistics will convince any one that these are morally, scien- 
tifically, and psychologically sound. 

Sunday school workers wonder why they are not 
accomplishing more. The reason is very simple. It is 
that too many teachers are trying to teach young people 
something they do not really believe themselves. Teach- 
ers wish that they could secure greater co-operation from 
the parents of the Sunday school children. But how can 
such help be expected until the children are taught in a 
way that the parents can conscientiously support ? I had 
a Sunday school class for seventeen years, but gave it up 



180 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

when business men looked me in the eye, when urging 
them to have their boys attend, and said : 

*'Mr. Babson, now, on the level, do you yourself 
believe what is being taught those children?" 

The Sunday school is one of the most valuable institu- 
tions existing. Its possibilities are unlimited. Why can- 
not those of us interested in Sunday schools frankly 
return to the practical teachings of Jesus ? Why cannot 
we frankly tell children that they are justified in wanting 
to be happy; but that the important thing is to learn what 
to do in order to be happiest ? Why cannot we acknowl- 
edge to the children that they are justified in doing what 
will make them healthy and independent, and what, in 
the broad sense, will "pay" best ? Then we could devote 
our energies to teaching that it pays best to recognize the 
laws of nature and keep well; that it pays best to consider 
the welfare of our neighbors, competitors, and even our 
enemies; in short, that it pays best to have rehgion. 

CHTJRCH vs. COLLEGE 

Many fathers ask why is it that the religion which they 
taught their children does not "stay" after the children 
leave home for college or work. The reason is that only 
the religion that *'pays" really "stays." This explains 
why it is very much easier to get young people to join 
the church before they have attended high school or col- 
lege or received scientific training. When children are 
taught to insist on a reason for every statement made 
by their teachers in history, geography, mathematics, 
physics, chemistry, and every other science, why should 
these children be blamed because the old religion does not 
"stay" ? Yet there is much evidence which could be used 
to teach a religion which would "pay," and thus would 



CAN RELIGION BE SUBSIDIZED 181 

"stay." History is full of proof that the greatest happi- 
ness comes from conformity with the laws of God, and 
that no one class or nation can long prosper except as 
other classes and nations prosper also. The Golden Rule 
and Sir Isaac Newton's Law of Equal Reaction are both 
founded on the same economic truth. A perfectly scien- 
tific basis exists for prayer. 

Statistics teach that a business man will be happiest by 
following- the teachings of Jesus; statistics teach that the 
Golden Rule is practical; statistics teach that prayer is a 
real force with unlimited possibilities; and statistics teach 
that religion is the greatest of undeveloped resources. 

Owing to theological differences, religious teaching 
has been eliminated from the public schools. As a result, 
our children are being given great quantities of book 
learning with little attention given to character building. 
Yet readers all know that character is much more impor- 
tant than the book learning. As somebody said: ''Pos- 
sessing a lot of paint will not make one a great artist." 
In the same way, possessing diplomas will not make boys 
and girls successful men and women. Success is largely 
a question of character — a question of having the right 
point of view. Why not stop teaching a medieval theol- 
ogy which we ourselves do not believe and give our chil- 
dren something definite and sound upon which they them- 
selves can build? Instead of ignoring human nature and 
trying to run counter to it, why not recognize and capital- 
ize it as Jesus did? 

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 

The need of uniform international statistics caused me, 
some years ago, to become much interested in interna- 
tional peace movements. It is, however, very evident that. 



182 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

under present conditions, conflicts between nations are 
inevitable, and that only by eliminating the economic 
causes of war can war itself be avoided. Another con- 
clusion becomes more self-evident each day; namely, that 
the economic causes of war will never be eliminated until 
people of the nations have a greater religious intelli- 
gence and foresight. Furthermore, the economic causes 
of war will eliminate themselves when men and women 
return to the Golden Rule, recognizing that the pros- 
perity of each of us depends on the prosperity of all of us. 
The political, industrial, and social troubles of to-day 
suggest that our house is founded on the sands. The 
church has been content to appeal to the sentiments and 
sympathy of the people instead of to their reason and 
common sense. Before the day of universal education, 
these old methods may have succeeded; but they do not 
succeed to-day. Now it must be shown that it pays in this 
livorld to follow Jesus, that the teaching of Christianity 
is simply an application to human relations of nature's 
great Law of Equal Reaction, and that the Sermon on 
the Mount is scientifically consistent. When the church 
has the courage to teach that religion really "pays," then 
it will have a following that really "stays." 

PRESENT-DAY STANDARDS 

It needs no arguing to convince one that nations are 
judged to-day by their material strength — that is, by their 
ability to build battleships, erect fortifications, and main- 
tain armies, and that this same money stajidard of meas- 
urement has sifted down throughout all the people. The 
password to-day is "Wealth." The questions which de- 
mand the attention of our Congress and Legislatures are 
questions relating to money — such as banking, tariffs. 



CAN RELIGION BE SUBSIDIZED 183 

taxes, etc. Bills are introduced relating to men, women, 
and children, but they receive only slight attention. The 
business man is rated by his money. Neither "Dun" nor 
"Bradstreet" consider how he obtains it. 

Righteousness is not a requirement to enter college. 
Hence, the schoolboy is not marked on his character. 
Hence, we continually talk to our children about their 
table manners, their dress, and their day school studies,., 
but say very little to them about the fundamentals of life, 
—ordinary righteousness. This is because we feel that 
dress and manners, arithmetic, and language count more 
toward getting on in life than does righteousness. This 
is wrong. We have a misconception of true values. Re- 
ligion is more important to our children even for "getting 
on" than are all other traits combined. 



RIGHTEOUSNESS CAN BE SUBSIDIZED 

Perhaps religion should be subsidized. It is fully prac* 
ticable to subsidize righteousness and put a tariff on un- 
righteoosness. The time is coming when a man must 
have character in order to be promoted under Civil Serv- 
ice. This will be found absolutely necessary as the Gov- 
ernment's work increases. 

Another great opportunity to subsidize righteousness, 
and put a tariff on selfishness, would be through a revi- 
sion of our tax laws. Under present laws a man is taxed 
on what he has, irrespective of how he got it, or how he 
is using it. To-day the man who improves his property 
and tries to increase his contribution to the community is 
taxed more than the man who develops nothing and holds 
back the community's growth. The man who does noth- 
ing to develop his property is let off with the smallest 



184 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

taxes. Some day this will all be changed, so that the man 
who uses his money to produce something worth while 
will be encouraged. The man who invests in the securi- 
ties of a water-power proposition, which is a benefit to the 
nation, will not be taxed so heavily thereon as if he in- 
vested money in the manufacture of luxuries or wasted it 
on useless ostentation. 

One of the simplest forms of subsidizing right living 
would be through the revision of school promotion requi- 
sites. It is difficult for the parent to impress upon the 
boy the importance of righteousness over geometry and 
French when the boy knows he must have these latter in 
order to graduate, while there is no requirement as to 
his religious qualities. Some day this will be entirely 
changed, and our universities v\all insist upon righteous- 
ness as an entrance requirement. As soon as righteous- 
ness is a requirement for entrance to colleges, then the 
schools will begin to mark on character as well as on 
mathematics and languages. AVhen the schools so mark, 
then shall we parents be as determined that our children 
shall have character as to have satisfactory marks in 
arithmetic and other studies. 

It will be very easy to subsidize religion or righteous- 
ness if it is thought wise to do so. Of course the idea of 
hiring people to do right is repulsive to many; but does 
not the history of the church show very plainly that its 
growth has been by subsidizing? Man has always been 
urged to "sacrifice" in the hopes of greater reward. The 
people are interested to-day, as in the past, only in what 
they think counts, and the future of the church rests in 
so shaping conditions that the masses will see that what 
the church has to ofTer does count. 

This means that the church should continue to preach 



CAN RELIG/ON BE SUBSIDIZED 185 

the fundamentals of religion; but rearrange the con- 
ventionalities of life so that men will be encouraged in 
doing right. Such an opportunity awaits the church 
to-day in shaping civilization so that a man will no longer 
be judged by what he has got, but by how he got it, and 
what he is doing with it. As a first step along such lines, 
a certain standard of righteousness must be insisted upon 
for entrance to schools and colleges. 

THE TWO REQUISITES 

Before such a change can be brought about, two things 
are necessary: First, there must be a desire on the part 
of the people for new standards; and, secondly, further 
statistics must be accumulated and some system devised 
for measuring righteousness. 

The first requisite of creating a desire among the people 
for a different standard has been very nearly accom- 
plished. Business men who are wearing themselves out 
in the race for wealth are already tired of the chase. 
Their reason for working so hard for the dollars, and 
their wives* reasons for struggling with fashions, are 
largely to be answered with the word "custom." That is, 
they are doing it because other people are doing it; or 
because these things are subsidized. If a vote could be 
taken for the inauguration for some other standard, it 
would be overwhelmingly in favor of a substitution for 
something more worth while. 

The second requisite to the subsidizing of righteous- 
ness is that some system must be devised for ascertain- 
ing of what right living consists and how it can be meas- 
ured. Of course, this can be done only by finding out 
what are the results and motives of right living. BlghU 



186 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

eousness, of itself, cannot be measured any more than 
electricity, of itself, is measured; but it can be indirectly 
measured through motives and results, the same as elec- 
tricity is measured through its magnetic powers. 

LOOK AT HISTORY 

As already suggested, righteousness has been subsi- 
dized during all periods when the church has been a great 
power in the community. Was not the "Promised Land" 
held up to the people during the earliest centuries, fol- 
lowing the days of the Patriarchs? Was not "national 
strength" constantly held up to the Israelites as a reward 
for right doing? Did not Jesus preach sacrifice in order 
that His hearers might win something greater than sacri- 
fice? History shows that the preaching of eternal life for 
those who do right, and eternal damnation for those who 
do wrong, has been the mainspring of the church during 
the past centuries. 

The "heaven and hell" doctrine is no longer taken 
seriously by the masses. Whether the preachers to-day 
still believe it, I do not know; but certainly they do not 
preach it nor base their claims thereon. The church to-day 
has withdrawn the former goals, and given up preaching 
heaven and hell, without substituting anything else in 
its place. This may not be pleasant to talk about, but it 
should be recognized. The church has flourished in the 
past by subsidizing righteousness. If so, shouldn't the 
church face the facts to-day and again subsidize righteous- 
ness or get the nations to do it for them ? It is as possible 
to subsidize righteousness and put a tariff on selfishness 
as it is to subsidize shipping and put a tariff on imparts. 

One great trouble with the church to-day is that the 



CAN RELIGION EE SUBSIDIZED 187 

preachers are no longer preacliing the "heaven and hell" 
doctrine, and yet have substituted no other reward and 
punishment in its place. Perhaps the church must devise 
practical means of subsidizing righteousness. Preachers 
should continue to preach the two fundamentals of Chris- 
tianity; but they should also endeavor to create a demand 
for these goods by shaping educational, industrial, and 
international movements so that people will actually see 
that it pays to do right. 

Business men should pay more to the preachers and 
give them more money to spend for studying men and 
measures. A pork packer gives his manager more money 
for studying hogs than we give our preachers for study- 
ing men. A steel manufacturer allows his chemists far 
more for studying iron than we allow our preachers for 
studying human conditions. The small salaries which we 
pay the men whom we employ to develop character for us 
compare very unfavorably with the salaries which we pay 
the men who develop trade for us. 

Business men would be justified in having great faith 
in the ability of the average preacher of to-day if he could 
be given a free hand and money with which to work. 
Those who complain that abler men are needed in the 
ministry should realize that abler men can be attracted 
only by first properly treating those who already are in 
the work. Preachers, like every other class of labor, are 
subject to the unerring law of supply and demand, ac- 
cording to which the demand precedes the supply. 

When our forefathers gave a tenth of all their income 
to the church, it was a power in the community, shaping 
education, legislation, and public thought. Since we have 
been using most of this "tenth" for other purposes, the 
preacher's influence has waned, and will continue to wane 



188 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

until we once more consider the church as seriously as 
we do our business. There are many preachers who 
would gladly take an active part in reshaping national 
and international affairs if they were given funds with 
which to work. These preachers know that in some way 
a premium must again be placed on right living and pro- 
duction; while sin and waste must be taxed. The great 
church organizations are willing to devote time and 
energy to the more immediate questions of what is right- 
eousness and how can it be measured, if we would only 
give them the funds. 

Let us recognize that conditions are changing and that 
standards will change. Let us prepare for this new era 
when righteousness again will be subsidized. The very 
fact that property is the standard to-day is almost a reason 
why it will not be the standard a generation hence. We 
should train our children tO' be prepared to face these new 
conditions, and be more liberal with their teachers. The 
day is surely coming when religion will become a matter 
of record as well as age ; while men will be fated by what 
they are and do. Let us drill this into our children and 
strive to prepare them for the change. Life is largely 
determined by habit; while habit is the result of train- 
ing. Let us use our influence with the schools to direct 
children along fundamental, rather than commercial lines. 
iLet us pay these teachers more for their work. Let us 
encourage the development of righteousness, remember- 
ing that the preachers and school teachers of our nation 
ar© its most vital forces^ 



CHAPTER XIV 

IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS FACING THE CHURCH 

As such an effort has been made, in previous chapters, 
to show the vital relationship, both present and possible, 
between religion and business, some words of warning 
may be necessary in conclusion. Even prosperity is of 
no value in itself. Although the world owes its life, lib- 
erty, and property to the church, it would be unwise to 
close without making these three statements: 

(i) Life, liberty, and least of all our property are of 
no value compared with our souls. "What shall it profit 
a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul ?" 
is as pertinent a question to-day as it was two thousand 
years aga Materialism is a millstone hanging on the neck 
of democracy. Materialism includes not only the wor- 
ship of property, but the worship also of pleasure and 
power or the desire to be freed from duty and responsi- 
bility. Materialism is equally common among the poor 
and the rich, among wage workers and employers. 

For the church to be used by any class to protect any 
form of property or privilege is suicidal from the church's 
standpoint The church is already under suspicion as a 
protector of vested interests. The masses are almost 
ready to believe that the people with property are using 
religion to-day as a sort of anaesthetic to quiet the 
masses and keep down discontent. This is boldly being 
charged by all atheists, many Socialists, and some labor 
leaders. To have such rumors current v/ill greatly harm 
the church; while to the extent that they are true, greatly 

1^9 



190 JRELIGION AND BUSINESS 

harms the greatest institution for good the world has 
ever seen. 

Hence it is very dangerous to speak of the church as a 
"protector of property"; while it is absolutely wrong to 
join the church or give to the church for such a reason. 
Whenever the church has been content to be a protector 
of any interests — political, educational, or financial — 
trouble has invariably followed. When a class or nation 
needs protection, it is a sign of weakness. The church 
should stand for faith; protection assumes fear. The 
church should stand for service; protection assumes sin. 
The church should stand for growth; protection assumes 
stagnation. Can there be a greater crime than to hide 
behind the cloak of religion for protection against the 
growing demands of the masses for more power and 
more wages? 

(2) Life, liberty, and property must not be ignored 
by the church. Mysticism has been as detrimental to the 
church as materialism. If talk and song could have saved 
the world, it would have been saved long ago. The time 
has passed when men or women are content to accept 
promises, payable in the next world. Concrete results are 
expected and demanded. The church must function with 
government, industry, finance, and commerce. 

It was a natural step in the evolution of government 
to separate church and state. But it is very probable 
that — in the process — the church has turned too much of 
its work over to the state. We criticize the Roman Cath- 
olics for insisting upon their parochial schools, but they 
may be setting the Protestants a good example. The 
church has made a great mistake in permitting its char- 
ity, hospital, and educational work to get into political 
hands. Jesus not only wants us to express His teachings 



IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS FACING THE CHURCH 191 

in our daily life and business, but He wants us church 
people to do it together as one united body. 

Thus we should not be yoked together unequally with 
unbelievers. The people of our churches should not only 
be living examples of Jesus' teachings, but should be loth 
to employ or work for those who are not followers of 
Him. The fact that religious people are willing — merely 
for profit — ^to hire anybody, work for anybody, or sell 
to anybody, irrespective of one's character, is one great 
reason for the troubles of to-day. The church must func- 
tion, both through its members and as a body, much more 
closely with life, liberty, and property in the years to 
come. Religion must mean more than going to church 
Sundays; it must mean the observance of the Ten Com- 
mandments during the other six days. 

(3) H the church cannot act as a protector of life, lib- 
erty, and property, and yet must function more in con- 
nection with such matters, what course is it to pursue? 
The answer is very plain. Jesus never spoke disparag- 
ingly of any of these things. Furthermore, when refer- 
ring to them. He really promised them to the people, 
saying : 

**Seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness, and 
all these things shall be added unto you." 

Were Jesus here to-day. He would never object to the 
material things about us — the transportation systems, the 
great buildings, the comforts of home and city. It would 
be only the inequalities which would trouble Him. He 
would want us to build railroads, factories, and houses; 
but He would want us to do these things in the interest 
of the entire group, and not for ourselves alone. Jesus 
is anxious for each of us to have more and more; but He 
wants us to see that our brothers have it, too. As no 



192 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

loyal member of a family builds himself up at the expense 
of his brothers or sisters, so no truly religious man will 
build himself up at the expense of his community, his 
wage workers, or his customers. 

The church should take an active interest in material 
things, but its members should try to raise the whole mass 
instead of simply themselves. Jesus would not object 
to how much we have in property or opportunity pro- 
vided we see that others have it also. The church should 
work for more life, liberty, and property; but should 
work for it as a body rather than as individuals. We all 
should push and strive; but let us push and strive for the 
group, including ourselves, rather than for only our- 
selves, forgetting the group. 

This does not mean socialism or charity of any sort. 
We do not help men when we give them rewards that 
they have not earned. Certainly the group cannot be 
helped by paternalistic or socialistic methods. But after 
we ourselves have got so much in land, houses, education, 
music, or art, we can devote our energies to seeing that 
others have the opportunity and ambition to secure, 
through work, these same things for themselves. 

WHAT THIS MEANS 

This program means that before religion becomes a 
greater factor in civilization, we church members must 
give very much more liberally than at present. There 
are strong indications that the old tithing system will be 
revived and possibly very much greater calls for money 
will be made. 

The reason Jesus did not make more demands on His 
disciples to give of money and property is because prac- 
tically none of them had any material means. He called 



IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS FACING THE CHURCH 193 

Upon them to give their lives, however, which was, of 
course, infinitely more than any gifts of money or proi>- 
erty. When Jesus came into contact with men of means 
i — as in the case of the rich yoimg ruler — He told him to 
sell his goods and give the proceeds to the poor. Jesus' 
statement that it is harder for a rich man to enter the 
Kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to go through the 
eye of a needle is also well known. 

Jesus probably had two things in mind: First, the 
natural temptation of a rich man to trust his wealth 
rather than his God; and, secondly, the handicap which 
wealth gives to one in winning souls. For instance, it is 
almost impossible for a rich man or woman to win souls 
to Jesus by personal work amongst the poor. If you have 
wealth and doubt it, just try it. You will soon be faced 
with the alternative of giving up your wealth and living 
with them as one of them, or of giving up your soul-win- 
ning campaign. 

WEALTH vs. INFLUENCE 

Indications are that religious people will come to 
very much heavier giving — not so much from the good 
which will come from the money itself, but in order to 
win back their influence with the masses. The church has 
lost its influence with the great masses of people, and 
especially with both union and unorganized labor. The 
leaders of the church are no more to blame for this tend- 
ency than are the labor and radical leaders ; but only by 
a giving-up by the well-to-do will this breach be healed. 
Only in this way can confidence be regained and can the 
world be made again to believe in the sincerity of the 
church and its followers. 

The economics of wealth, inheritance, and enterprise 



194 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

have been referred to in another chapter. The winning 
of confidence, however, is Hke the winning- of war. Eco- 
nomics must temporarily be forgotten. Even though it 
may be better from an economic point of view to keep 
the wealth in the hands of its present owners, yet the 
church will never come to its own until a change takes 
place. This means that the well-to-do people connected 
with the church should make the next move in order to 
win the masses. We business men must give until it 
hurts. Our present giving requires no real sacrifice. The 
world knows this, and hence does not take seriously our 
professions. 

Statistics suggest that the next revival of religion 
will be an economic revival whereby the church people 
will give their property, as our forefathers gave their 
lives. It is no longer necessary to go to the stake or even 
go to prison for Jesus' sake, but the time is fast approach- 
ing when it may be necessary for us to give up a great 
deal more than we now do in order to show our real 
interest in religion and its work. All of us could easily 
give lo per cent.; many of us could give 50 per cent, 
and some of us could give 90 per cent, of our income 
and still have left to live upon more than has the average 
person. Moreover, one reason why such giving is not 
seen to-day is because the church is not now organized 
properly to use the money. 

GREATER GIVING NECESSARY 

The tithing system, if adopted by the churches, would 
give astounding figures. A compilation shows that the 
annual business turn-over in this country amounts to over 
five hundred billion dollars. It is estimated that of this 



IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS FACING THE CHURCH 195 

amount four-fifths pass through the hands of the church 
people. One per cent, of this amount would mean five 
billion dollars a year. Assuming that there is profit of 
10 per cent on this turn-over, it would mean that there 
is coming each year to the church people of this country 
income amounting to forty billion dollars. If the tithing 
process were in operation, this would give the church in 
tithes about four billion dollars a year. These figures 
seem very extraordinary, but on checking them up no 
flaws can be found. The facts are that the church people 
of the country are giving less than i per cent, of their 
income to church and missionary work. If this were 
increased to lo per cent, the church would become the 
most powerful organization, and the wonderful results 
which have been indicated in this book could eventu- 
ally conie to pass. Then the church could come to its 
own in a great big way that heretofore it has been able 
only to talk about. 

An illustration of what this work could be is shown 
in connection with the Mexican situation. The money 
spent during the Pershing border campaign would have 
been sufficient to establish a public school system, a col- 
lege, and a hospital in every Mexican city and town with 
a population of over 4,000 people. In addition, an 
endowment of several hundred thousand dollars would 
have been available for educational work in each of these 
communities. These figures are based on the cost of only 
the first year's campaign. If the total cost up to the 
present time were considered, the figures would be most 
astounding. 

If the churches of England, France, and America had 
spent before the war one-tenth on endeavoring to convert 
Germany of what they have spent on endeavoring to 



196 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

conquer Germany, the great war could have been avoided, 
with all its terrible results. Again, if we would spend 
on schools and hospitals and Christian propaganda in 
Japan one-tenth of what we are spending on our army 
and navy to protect us against Japan, a war with Japan 
could be avoided. The truth is that we church people 
either do not believe what we pretend to believe or else 
we lack the courage to put our beliefs into action. The 
churches hold the only key to our international and 
national difficulties. We know this, and the world knows 
it; yet we still are trying to solve the problems in the 
old way — with armies, navies, and unprincipled diplo- 
macy. Why is it that we longer continue this incon- 
sistency ? 

The strangest part of it is that the religious people still 
have to pay the bill even though unprincipled men declare 
war and enact legislation which makes war inevitable. 
It is said that 80 per cent, of the $11,481,109,000 col- 
lected in Federal taxes by the United States Government 
during the first two and one-half years of the war came 
directly or indirectly from church people. Therefore we 
church people pay the bill, even though men who ridicule 
us collect the money from us and spend it. 

The real security of the nation is not its military, but 
rather its religion; the real protectors of our homes are 
not the policemen, but rather the preachers; and the real 
protectors of our daughters are not the law makers, but 
rather the priests. Business men who are interested in 
checking up these figures may examine the ^'Building 
Permits," the ''Bank Deposits," and the ''Shipping Re- 
ceipts" for any community. If these figures are studied 
for a sufficient length of time, they will show what pro- 
portion of the bank savings and various other work ot 



IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS FACING THE CHURCH 197 

the comraimity is due to the religious people. But what- 
ever the figures are, they will be found large enough to 
warrant the churchmen of our nation to wake up and 
be serious. Only by so doing can religion save the world ; 
only as rehgion saves the world can we save ourselves. 

MILITARISTS VS. CHURCHMEN 

There is a growing tendency among church people' to 
consider their taxes as a part of their benevolences. This 
is a great mistake. The question should be "taxes or 
benevolences." 

In talking over the pacifist's cause a great military 
leader replied: "The trouble with you church people is 
that you are not willing to back up your theories with 
your life or even with your property. When one of us 
military men believe in war, we are willing to go to war 
and to be shot at This you church people are not will- 
ing to do. Therein lies your great weakness. Whenever 
you are willing to pay the price of putting your princi- 
ples into eflFect, then we military men will be obliged to 
retire. Our strength is due to your cowardice." 

Is there not much truth in this statement? Are not 
the military men, the labor leaders, and the practical poli- 
ticians more consistent than we church people ? They all 
stand for a cause and are willing to stake their jobs on 
the cause. As they win or lose, it means much to them. 
But how is it with the church people ? "Safety first" is 
the churchmen's motto. Churches cannot successfully 
serve two, masters. It is impossible in the long run. 
Moreover, this lap of the run has just about come to 
an end. The church must now decide for what it is to 
stand and then must back its stand with life and property. 



198 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

BACK THE CHURCHMEN IN POLITICS 

One thin^ more, before the church comes to its own, 
it must back up its people who are fighting for righteous- 
ness in Washington and in the other capitals of the world. 
One of the saddest things connected with the church is 
to see church people divided as to politics and putting 
their politics ahead of their religion. The churchmen in 
political office at Washington who are conscientiously 
doing their work should receive the united support of all 
the church people in the country, whether these Wash- 
ington officials are Republicans or Democrats. 

Jesus said, "A house divided against itself cannot 
stand." This certainly applies to the church to-day in con- 
nection with government matters. It is estimated that 
the church people are about 50 per cent. Republicans, 
40 per cent. Democrats, and the balance either independ- 
ents or of other parties. Such a division does not speak 
well for the church people. If we are followers of Jesus 
and have the same interests, it seems as if we ought to 
be in one united political party. Of course this may re- 
quire the organization of a new party. Certainly it would 
require a reformation of both of the present big parties. 

The fact, nevertheless, remains that if the churches are, 

. t 

serious in their religion, they will do something along 

these lines. It, however, would be even a greater crime 

to have the Catholics and Protestants in separate and 

exposing parties. This should never happen. 

The church some day will wake up and see where it' 

has been fooled by the political leaders. Then the churchj 

people will put their church before their political party. 

Then they will unite upon some man who stands for 

Jesus' teachings without specifying for any party. Such 

a move could be made at once in each city and then could 



IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS FACING THE CHURCH 199 

develop into a great national movement, which is what 
the nation longs for. 

The real difficulty of the church to-day is that it has 
failed sufficiently to express itself in business, the daily 
work of its members. It has taken literally Jesus' com- 
mand to "go out into the world and preach the Gospel 
to every creature"; but has failed to put enough empha- 
sis upon His other command: "Even so let your light 
shine before men that they will see your good works and 
glorify your Father who is in Heaven." 

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS 

The church needs now to function more closely with 
business and to express its religion more emphatically 
through business. Talk and exhortation have largely lost 
their effectiveness. Actions and demonstrations are 
needed to-day. To give these practical demonstrations 
of rehgion should be the immediate aim of religious 
leaders. The following few simple illustrations show 
what I have in mind. 

The churchmen of each community who are manufac- 
turers could get together and determine that they will 
pay more wages than those plants which are not bdng 
run by churchmen. Surely the plant paying highest 
wages should be that of an active Christian. 

The churchmen of each community who are wage 
workers could get together and determine that they will 
make better goods than those employes who do not pre- 
tend to be followers of the Carpenter of Nazareth. Cer- 
tainly these men and women should seriously consider 
the advisability of becoming unequally yoked tog'ether 
with others who spurn religion. 

The churchmen of each community who are mer*:harits 



200 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

could g-et together and make sure that their stores are 
considered the best and fairest in the community. They 
could so act that people would know the practise of a 
store by inquiring whether or not its owner is a church- 
man. The followers of Jesus will not profiteer. 

The churchmen of each community engaged in other 

lines could get together and make sure that they are help- 

i^ ing out the people by their daily tasks. The bankers, 

lawyers, doctors, teachers, architects, and statisticians all 
have their duty to perform in this greatly needed demon- 
stration. When one asks, 'Ts he a churchman?'' before 
being willing to do business with a person, then our 
religion will mean something. 

Some object to this, saying that it would tend to fill 
the church with hypocrites and parasites. Of course the 
church would have to be on its guard ; but it easily could 
be. Every scientific and professional club is subject to 
the same abuse, but easily prevents it If you have any 
doubts, try to get into one of these clubs to which your 
record does not justify you. The difficulty has been that 
the church people have not combined as to their business 
or professional work. When this is done, the various 
difficulties will solve themselves. 

The problems of religion and of business have reached 
a stage which no longer allows optional consideration; 
they must be fairly met and constructively treated. 

The war has brought great changes in American 
thought. The universal and spontaneous response to the 
appeals of "democracy and humanity," and the emphasis 
laid upon these objectives by the business men of America 
in war appeals, have established "democracy and human- 
ity" as a practical principle to which all are committed 
America now expects the logical fulfillment, in terms of 



IMM^IATfi PROBLEMS FACING THE CHURCH 201 

finance, trade, and industry, of the implied promises 
which "democracy and humanity" entailed. 

The tremendous increase in living expense has so ag- 
gravated economic conditions that America's problems 
are receiving* frenzied, rather than constructive, consid- 
eration. Those who have no other resource than a will- 
ingness to work, must depend upon labor as their only 
means of accomplishment, whether constructive or de- 
structive. 

In times of stress people are peculiarly susceptible to 
the' arguments and inducements of radicals and extrem- 
ists. They become the despair of all who are conscien- 
tiously trying to establish what is just and right. Yet 
these same people gave every support in their power to 
the war, because they were willing to make any neces- 
sary sacrifice for the principles in which they believed. 

This indicates that a favorable attitude of mind must 
first be established in planning for any vital reconstruc- 
tion work in which the church may engage. Friendli- 
ness, sincerity, and truth are necessary for this, together 
with a frank discussion of whatever may be involved. 

Certain convictions, more or less formulated, seem to 
prevail in the minds of the public which determine their 
attitude toward religion and the men connected there- 
with. These convictions are : 

1. That the right to live carries with it the obligation 
to work, 

2. That the right to enjoy life depends upon the zmH" 
ingness to zvork. 

3. That enjoyment of life belongs equally to all and 
should never be at the expense of another's enjoy- 
ment. 



202 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

4. That this birthright of "enjoyment of life" has 
been usurped and only the labor left; and that the 
product of labor has been so manipulated that the 
few with a minimum of work can control the destin- 
ies of the many. 

5. That the inheritance of this power to control, or 
to be subservient, does not justify a continuance of 
the system which developed the injustice. 

6. That labor and capital are equally necessary to in- 
dustry and entitled to equal dignity and deference. 

7. That "Bonuses," "Profit Sharing," "Shop Wel- 
fare," "Shop Representation," as institutions, ex- 
press only patronage, and are but expedients to 
avoid the recognition of the partnership rights of 
labor and capital. 

The disturbances of to-day are not as discouraging as 
they seem. They are due more to the desperation caused 
by high costs than a desire to interfere with industrial 
stability. However, there are deep-seated convictions 
among the best thinking people of America that the 
church should at once regain the confidence of the masses 
and that there will be no permanent prosperity until 
such confidence is regained. This is the next step to be 
taken in redeeming the world through religion. 



kill 



THE COWBOY'S PRAYER 
By Charles Badger Clark, Jr. 

Lord, I've never lived where churches grewj 
I love creation better as it stood 

That day You finished it so long ago 
And looked upon Your work and called it good. 

1 know that others find You in the light 

That's sifted down through tinted windowpanes. 
And yet I seem to feel You near tonight 
In the dim, quiet starlight on the plains. 

I thank You, Lord, that I am pleased so well. 

That You have made my freedom so complete; 
That I'm no slave of whistle, clock, or bell. 

Or weak-eyed prisoner of wall and street. 
Just let me live my life as I've begun, 

And give me work that's open to the sky; 
Make me a partner of the wind and sun, 

And I won't ask a life that's soft or high. 

Let me be easy on the man that's down 

And make me square and generous with all; 
I'm careless sometimes, Lord, when I'm in town. 

But never let them say I'm mean or small. 
Make me as wide and open as the plains, 

As honest as the horse between my knees, 
Oean as the wind that blows behind the rains, 

Free as the hawk that circles down the breeze. 

Forgive me, Lord, when sometimes I forget; 

You know about the reasons that are hid, 
You know about the things that gall and fret, 

You know me better than my mother did. 
Just keep an eye on all that's done and said. 

Just right me sometimes, when I turn aside. 
And guide me on the long, dim trail ahead, 

That stretches upward to the Great Divide. 



203 



CHAPTER XV 



CONCLUSION 



How shall the church regain the confidence of the 
masses in order to redeem the world through religion? 

In a previous chapter it is shown that socialism is not 
the doctrine for the church to preach to-day. But the 
church must not be guilty of opposing socialism without 
providing some other solution for the problem. The dif- 
ficulty with socialism is not in itself, but in that it depends 
upon religion to make it work. Without religion, social- 
ism would never be successful ; and when people are filled 
with the spirit of rehgion, socialism will not be necessary. 

Surely the capitalistic system is not a success. The 
downfall of the church would be certain were it to defend 
capitalism. Capitalism is distinctly opposed to the teach- 
ings of religion, and cannot be defended consistently by 
the church. Capitalism develops* those selfish qualities 
which are anti-religious. Modem industry and com- 
merce are based on selfishness in contrast with the teach- 
ings of religion which are based on service. 

Without doubt both industry and commerce are im- 
proving. Manufacturers and merchants are learning 
that to succeed permanently they must talk service, what- 
ever may be their religious opinions. The dishonest prac- 
tises which got by a few years ago are no longer suc- 
cessful. Advertising to-day must be honest in order to 
succeed; men must be honest in order to secure credit; 

204 



CONCLUSION 205 

and the tricks of the trade no longer make profits as in 
the days gone by. But it is still profitable to advertise 
things which people ought not to buy, and although banks 
insist on honesty, they primarily ask, how much property 
have you got ? They do not yet ask a man how he got it, 
whether by manufacturing something which made the 
world better or which made it worse. 

In the last analysis the successful business man to-day 
must outbuy and outsell his neighbor. The rule of trade 
is that a man must give as little to the other man and get 
as much from him as possible. Certainly the rule of trade 
is contrary to the Golden Rule. Religion teaches that we 
should ask little for ourselves and give as much as pos- 
sible to others. As a mother tries to do as much as she 
can for her children, instead of getting as much as she 
can out of them, so the religious business man should act 
toward his customers — ^so the religious wage worker 
should act'toward his employer and those who are to buy 
what he makes. 

EFFICIENCY AND DISCIPLINE NECESSARY 

Some go so far as to say that religion should eliminate 
employer and employe* so that co-operation should take 
the place of competition. This may be practical a hun- 
dred years from now; but it is useless to consider it in 
our day and generation. Men are bom industrial leaders 
just as truly as they are born musical leaders. The health, 
happiness, and prosperity of the entire nation demands 
organization, leadership, and discipline. To give the 
nation the maximum of necessities and comforts requires 
that same form of organization which enables an orches- 
tra to give good music. Let us analyze these require- 
ments : 



206 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

1. Each player must play the part for which he is best 
fitted. 

2. Each part must be played by some one who loves to 
play and who especially enjoys the instrument which 
he uses. 

3. The players cannot all play the same instrument; 
some must take important and others unimportant parts. 

4. This means that there must be discipline under a 
leader who employs the various players at their respec- 
tive market rates, charging a fair price for his own 
services. 

Formerly, when making a price for the use of such 
an orchestra, the salaries of all, including the leader, 
were totaled, and this made the price to the public. There 
was then no labor problem nor was there the need of 
any union to protect the players. 

Gradually, however, orchestras came to be mainly em- 
ployed in theaters, hotels, and other places operated 
wholly for profit. The practise was then for the man- 
agement to hire the players as cheaply as possible, and 
to take the difference as profit. This was the beginning 
of labor troubles in the musical industry. It is a fair 
illustration of the history of most industries. As the 
profit system is introduced, the religious spirit wanes. 

APITAL VERY NECESSARY 

Capitalism must not be confounded with the accumula- 
tion and use of capital. This is a very common mistake 
made by the masses, Capitcdisin means operation of 
industry and commerce for profit; while capital repre- 
sents the result of thrift and self-restraint. While the 
former is essentially irreligious, the latter is distinctly 
religious in conception and operation. Not only is cap- 



CONCLUSION 207, 

ital of great service in making people healthier, happier, 
and more prosperous, but its growth depends upon 
developing those religious qualities of self-control and 
abstinence. As self -gratification is at the bottom of cap- 
italism, so self-sacrifice is the basis of capital. Hence 
business is justified in backing the accumulation and use 
of capital, although some question may exist as to the 
wisdom of allowing it to be passed on from generation 
to generation without restriction. 

This suggests, then, that an immediate problem is to 
develop efficiency, accumulate capital, and work toward 
other capitalistic ends; but by using some other force 
than the incentive of profit. As neither socialism nor 
individualism is successful, it is up to the religious busi- 
ness men to discover this new force. As suggested in 
previous chapters, not only does the solution of our pres- 
ent troubles await this new force, but its dissemination 
would greatly increase the efficiency of production and 
distribution. Then the kingdom of God would truly 
come on earth, and "all these other things" could be 
enjoyed by every one. Statistics clearly indicate that 
religion is this force which can take the place of both 
socialism and individualism. Religion awakens in men 
and women all the worth-while attributes of both social- 
ism and individualism, both of which have their good 
features. By demonstrating this religion in business, the 
church would regain the confidence of the masses, 

PROFITS A STUMBLINGBLOCK 

The attitude of the church toward missionary work 
may suggest a religious method of approach to industry 
and commerce. The great missionary enterprises buy 



208 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

and sell, borrow and loan. They are individualistic in 
conception and operation, but the profit feature is elim- 
inated. Tliey avoid the pitfalls of communism and social- 
ism, but do not become selfish. They are subject to com- 
petition to develop efficiency; but avoid those cutthroat 
methods which are wasteful and useless. 

These facts have resulted in attracting to the mission- 
ary movement men and women with great vision and 
energy. These people are happy working in the mission 
fields for one-quarter the salary which they could secure 
in a profit-making business. This means that the elimina- 
tion of profits enables an organization to secure better 
workers for much less money than a profit-making con- 
cern can obtain them. 

The same truth is illustrated in connection with educa- 
tional and medical work. Men and women are to-day 
working in schools and hospitals who would not be there 
were they profit-making enterprises. This does not mean 
that non-profit-making enterprises are justified in paying 
low salaries. They should pay the market price for 
wages as for commodities or money. The important 
point is that the fact that they are not being operated 
for profit is an asset rather than a handicap, and that for 
the same wage a non-profit-making enterprise can get 
very much better workers than can a profit-making 
enterprise. 

The religious spirit makes better employers, better 
wage workers, and a better public spirit with which to 
deal. Furthermore, without such a religious spirit, all 
legislative, co-operative, and other plans are of no avail. 
Religion is to the world what a spring is to a watch, 
and the sooner it is generally recognized, the more people 
will be h^ltby, happy, and prosperous. 



CONCLUSION ' 209 

A HEALTHY SIGN 

This same religious spirit is not confined to missionary, 
educational, and medical work. It is already breaking 
into business. The wealthy manufacturer or merchant, 
although not yet ready to give his time to making or 
selling commodities in the community's interest, is will-' 
ing to serve freely as a trustee of the savings bank, a 
director of the local library, or an officer of the hospital 
and certain charitable organizations. To each of these 
things he gives valuable time for which he would want 
many thousands of dollars in profits were they profit- 
making enterprises. 

May not the time come when these men may be will- 
ing to nm their factories and stores — as trustees — with 
the same unselfish purpose? Certainly those of us who 
have money are not striving for more profits in order to 
have more to spend. We already have reached a point 
where we are losing instead of making friends by our 
method of living and the amount we spend. We surely 
are not seeking more profits for our children's sake. 
Many of us have already accumulated for them more 
than is good for them. 

This means that our only legitimate excuse for seek- 
ing profits is to secure the power and influence in the 
extension of our business which these profits give us. 
Hence, a real problem of religion and business is to 
devise a plan which will select the best men, supply 
these best men with capital, and to induce these men to 
give their services for a reasonable wage. Perhaps this 
will be accomplished by the business men paying them- 
selves a good salary, but putting these profits back into 
the business and distributing certificates of ownership 



210 RELIGION AND BUSINESS 

to the full amount of these profits to the people — not 
necessarily to the employes from vv^hence the profits come. 
Perhaps the adoption of some such plan as this by relig- 
ious business men may some time be necessary in order 
to get the masses to consider religion more seriously. 

It is not the purpose of this book to suggest details 
of a plan for redeeming the world, but rather to empha- 
size that the world can be redeemed socially, industrially, 
and commercially only through religion. Governments 
may succeed in protecting men in freedom of effort and 
rights of ownership; but only religion can energize men 
unto a maximum of useful service and make them con- 
tent with ^ simple material reward. 



STATISTICAL ADDENDA 

Considerable confusion exists as to churcH and other 
religious statistics. The most comprehensive work was 
accompHshed by the Survey Department of the Inter- 
church World Movement, and the following chart was 
prepared by that organization. This department, how- 
ever, has no comparative figures which are of use in 
connection with barometric studies. 

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES 

In the adjoining chart the 42,044,374 church mem- 
bers are divided according to the size of the 201 different 
bodies as reported by the Government's Bureau of 
Religious Statistics. 

The Roman Catholics are reported as a single body 
and 119 other churches are scaled according to their 
numerical strength, with 81 smaller bodies grouped in a 
single block which represents the relative size of their 
combined membership. 

The chart was prepared to illustrate a table of sta- 
tistics so that the relative numerical strength of the 
religious bodies of our country might be readily seen. 

The methods of compiling rehgious statistics differ 
widely in the several religious bodies and especially so 
when attempts are made to harmonize the records of 
Protestant and Roman Catholic. Care must be exer- 
cised that we do not over-estimate the strength of a 
religious body because of the number of its members. 

2n 



THE TWO HUNDRED ONE RELIGIOUS BODIES 

IN THE UNITED STATES 

From the Government Bureau of Statistic^ 



Roman 
Catholic 

15.742262 



Eastern Orlhodox 



359. 99S 



tatter Day Sainis 

. Two ^odiis 



S/necf 

g,4g,.7SS 



Reformed in U S 

340671 



Choirhescf Christ 



Colairt Meltedist fpjscipsi 



UihWs 



^ M Bodies' 

33.S?B 



Melhociift ProteUiC' 



lultieraiilfefei teil^jn" 



tothecan JvTiod (^"Dhio 



Un.U;a^w^J^io-\^ 




e^ifiSB 



Disciples 
of Christ 

123L404- 



Morthcm 

Baptist 

Conventioii 

1227448 



latheraR^/nodieal 

Coaference 

In 438 



QeRera! CouJxnl 
53SIOa 



mferanOen Synod 

370.616 



PtBslylenan mU.S 

357,566 



iWfoiBwifKsflifiChnst 

348,490 



Episcqpai 
-i Souttj i 



Presbyieriaa 
in U.S.A. 

1613 056 



Protestad^ 
Episcopal 

1.098.173 



790 J&3 



African • , 

Methoriist Episcopal 

552^65 



African MI .Zion 



South 

27H.S91 



Methodist 
EpisQOfal 

3.718.396 



Coior^ 
aota34i 



27.a270 . 



= 250.000 Mate 'im- t®ffiER^P • 41044374- 



tfftfC/Kftff Ki^J Mmr<vm< cT Hylh Amfls^ 



ssms 



•*BiaiRCB« 



STATISTICAL ADDENDA 213 

By a more careful analysis it will be found that the 
development of some of the smaller bodies in local and 
benevolent church life v/ill serve as an object lesson for 
many of the larger organizations. 

One of the most vital subjects affecting church sta« 
tistics is that of the children; some of the branches of the 
church counting them as members from infancy and 
others actually undertaking to conduct the work of the 
church without them.. This is often the cause of conflict- 
ing statements as to the relation of church membership to 
population, and nothing is more misleading than to state 
that the unsaved portion of a given population is the dif- 
ference between the population itself and the number of 
people recorded as church micmbers. It should be kept in 
mind that, according to the last official census, 26 per 
cent of the entire population of the United States were 
children under eleven years of age. 

Aside from the child life, which certainly cannot be 
counted against us, there are literally millions of people 
in America who have belonged to Christian churches, but 
who are not now recorded as actual communicants. Many 
of these are worshiping in churches in which they do not 
hold their membership. This is especially true in some 
western communities, where by actual count it has been 
established that the number of church members belong- 
ing elsev/here equals the number who belong locally. 

Perhaps one of the first and most essential movements 
of the church should be in united efforts to gather in 
these people and to enlist their full co-operation. 



CHfe 



ismaees/a 



I 



WHERE 58 MILLIONS UNCHURCHED 
AMERICANS RESIDE 



AUOAMA 

ARIZONA 

ARKANSAS 

CALIFORNIA 

COLORADO 

CONNECTICUT 

DEtAWARE 

O.C. 

FLORIDA 

GEORGIA 

IDAHO 

ILLINOIS 

INDIANA 

IOWA 

KANSAS 

KENTUCKY 

LOUISIANA 

MAINE 

MARYLAND 

WASSACHUSETTS 

MICHIGAN 

MINNESOTA 

MISSISSIPPI 

MISSOURI" 

MONTANA 

NEBRASKA 

NEVADA 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 

NEW JERSEY 

NEW MEXICO 

NEW YORK 

N. CAROLINA 

N. DAKOTA 

0HK5 

OKLAHOMA 

OR£G0N 

PEfJNSYLVANIA 

RHODE ISLAND 

& CAROLINA 

S. DAKOTA 

TfeNNESSEE 

TEXAS 

dTAH 

VERMONT 

ymoiNiA 

WASHINGTON 
iff. VIRGIISUA 
WISCONSIN 
WYOMING 



CATHOLIC 




X^^fiK%g?'\;^'V-:^:-.' ^'i: S a^ 



»i^^^^^^^^;3Sg«8figgg»«ii! . I , . ■ 



^^^^^^-*5^«ggi?!Kg!i05JKg8g«; " 



^mmmi^'yi.-^^^.:::-^:. 



^^^^^^^^^yy'^yxyi:'>S6iZ(mi?^. 



w////////////////yz////y///////////m R 




w///// /////////mv/W W///MM m , 




m'//////y////////////w;wA 



m='^^>^^^^!^^^^^^^^t'^^x^^^^y/. 



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'^^^^^^m'-m(sszi!</)izim. 



Totals Catholics 16,788,214 Jews 3,388.951 Other Non-Prot 739.709 
Protestants 24354,216 Not memt>ers of any ctjurch 58,368.241 
OTHEft NON PROTESTANT NOT MEMBER^ 



JEWISH 

eggs 




PROTESTANT 



'OF ANV CHUf^CM 



f^f^*V^''^ 



■w** 



jIlfVR'^i 



STATISTICAL ADDENDA 215 

CHURCH MEMBERS BY DENOMINATIONS 

The following" table gives the membership in 19 16 of 
those denominations reporting" more than 50,000 mem- 
bers, the increase over the figures reported for 1906, and 
the rank of each denomination as indicated by the total 
membership, by the increase in number of members, and 
by the per cent, of increase. The Independent churches 
and Jewish congregations are omitted. The table shows 
that for the denominations reporting over 1,000,000 
members there were only very slight variations in rank 
as regards members and numerical increase but that there 
were great variations as regards per cent, of increase. 
Thus, the Roman Catholic Church ranks first in number 
of members and in numerical increase, but in per cent, of 
increase its rank is thirty-six, due in part to the falling 
off in immigration and possibly to the immigration of 
Italians, Austrians, French, and others who returned to 
Europe for the war. The Methodist Episcopal Church 
ranks second in number of members and in numerical 
increase, but twenty-first in per cent, of increase, while 
the Methodist Episcopal Church South, ranking fifth in 
members and numerical increase, is sixteenth in per cent, 
of increase. The Presbyterian Church in the United 
States of America ranks ninth in per cent, of increase, 
which is the highest rank in any of the nine denomina- 
tions reporting over 1,000,0000 members. This table is 
compiled from U. S. Bureau of Census i&gures ; 



216 



RELIGION AND BUSINESS 



Roman Catholic Church 

Methodist Episcopal 

Baptists — National Convention . 
Baptists — Southern Convention. 

Methodist Episcopal, South 

Presbyterian Church in United 
States of America 

Baptists — Northern Convention. 

Disciples of Christ 

Protestant Episcopal 

Congregational Churches 

Lutheran — Synodical Conference . 

African Methodist Episcopal. . . . 

Lutheran — General Council 

Latter Day Saints, Church of 
Jesu3 Christ 

Lutheran — General Synod .... 

Presbyterian Church in the 
United States 

United Brethren in Christ 

Reformed Church in the United 
States 

German Evangelical Synod 

Churches of Christ 

African Methodist Episcopal Zion 

Colored Methodist Episcopal. . . 

Methodist Protestant 

United Norwegian Lutheran .... 

Lutheran — Joint Synod of Ohio. 

United Presbyterian 

Reformed Church in America . . . 

Lutheran — Synod of Iowa 

Evangelical Association 

Greek Orthodox (Hellenic) 

Christian Church (Christian Con- 
vention) 

Synod for Norwegian Lutheran 
Church 

Church of the Brethren (Con- 
servative) 

Russian Orthodox Church 

Friends (Orthodox) 

United Evangelical 

Unitarians 

Primitive Baptists 

Seventh-Day Adventlsts 

Uumberland Presbyterian 

Latter Day Saints, Reorganized 
Church of Jesus Christ 

Universalists 

Lutheran — United Synod, South 

Free Will Baptists 



Total. 



Members, 
1916 



15,721.815 
3,717,785 
2,938,579 
2,708,870 
2,114,479 

1.611,251 

1,232,135 

1,226,028 

1,092,821 

791,274 

777,701 

548,355 

540,642 

403,388 
370,715 

357,769 
348,828 

344,374 
339,853 
317,937 
257,169 
245,749 
186,908 
176,084 
164,968 
160,726 
144,929 
130,793 
120,756 
119,871 

118.737 

112.673 

105.102 
99,681 
92,379 
89,774 
82,515 
80.311 
79,355 
72,052 

58,941 
58,566 
56.656 
54.833 



40,374,127 



Increase Over 
1906* 



Number 



1,511.06C- 
731,631 
676.972 
699,399 
475,999 

431,685 

180.030 

243.327 

205.879 

90,794 

117,031 

53.578 

78,465 

187,592 
100,494 

91,424 
74.179 

51,720 
46,716 
158,279 
72,627 
72,753 
8.364 

— 8,943 
41,560 
30,384 
19,991 
29,539 
15,858 
29,120 

8,620 

4.961 

28,555 
80,570 
1,218 
19,892 
11,973 

— 22,000 
17,144 

-123.718 

18,090 

- 5,592 
8,909 

14.553 






Per 
Cent. 



10.6 
24.5 
29.9 
34.8 
29.1 

36.6 
17.1 
24.8 
23.2 
13.0 
17.7 
10.8 
17.0 

86.9 
37.2 

34.3 
27.0 

17.7 
15.9 
99.1 
39.4 
42.1 
4.7 
— 4.8 
33.7 
23.3 
16.0 
18.6 
15.1 
32.1 

7.8 

4.6 

37.." 

421. e 

1.3 

28.5 

17. C 

— 21.5 
27. <: 

— 63.2 

44.' 

-8.7 

18.7 

36.1 



zsis 



Rank According 
to 



Mem- 
bers 
in 
1916 



1 
2 
3 
4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 
15 

16 
17 

18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 

31 

32 

33 

34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 
40 

41 
42 
43 
44 



Increase 
Over 1906 



No. 



1 
2 
4 
3 
5 

6 
10 
7 
8 
15 
13 
21 
17 

% 
13 

14 
13 

22 
23 
11 
20 
19 
38 
42 
24 
25 
29 
28 

26 

37 

39 

27 
16 
40 
30 
35 
43 
32 
44 

31 
41 
36 
34 



Per 
Cent. 



36 
21 
15 
11 
16 

9 

28 
20 
23 
34 
26 
35 
29 

3 

8 

12 
19 

27 

32 

2 

6 

5 

58 

41 

13 

22 

31 

25 

33 

14 

37 

39 

7 

1 

40 

17 
30 
43 

18 
44 

4 

42 
24 
10 



sssac 



* A minus fiign ( — ^ denotes decresae. 



STATISTICAL ADDENDA 217 

CHURCH PROPERTY 

In ascertaining the amount of money invested in thd 
churches we again resort to the U. S. Bureau of Census 
figures of 1916. These show a total value of $1,676,600,- 
582, with a debt of $164,800,000. These figures are based 
on the actual money invested and the money borrowed. 
It is fair to assume, however, that the present valuation 
of this property is upward of $2,000,000,000 and if the 
allied property of the churches is likewise included, it 
would amount to nearly $3,000,000,000. So far as our 
studies go, it indicates that the reports were based on 
very low valuations. These figures are compiled on the 
total of 226,718 organizations reporting, with a total 
membership of 41,926,850, of which 15,653,958 were 
males and the balance females. These organizations are 
using 203,432 church edifices, although the valuation 
reported of $1,676,600,582 covers only 197,807 of these 
edifices. This valuation is divided, among the leading 
denominations as follows ; 



218 



RELIGION AND BUSINESS 
REPORTED VALUE OF PROPERTY 



Roman Catholic 

Methodist Episcopal 

Baptists — National Convention 

Baptists — Southern Conventior 

Methodist Episcopal, South 

Presbyterian Church in U. S. of America. . . . 

Baptists — Northern Convention 

Disciples of Christ 

Protestant Episcopal 

Congregational Churches 

Lutheran — Synodical Conference 

African Methodist Episcopal 

Lutheran — General Council 

Presbyterian Church in the United States. . 

United Brethren in Christ 

Reformed Church in the United States 

German Evangelical Synod 

Churches of Christ 

African Methodist Episcopal Zion 

Colored Methodist Episcopal 

Methodist Protestant 

United Norwegian Lutheran 

Lutheran — Joint Synod of Ohio 

United Presbyterian 

Reformed Church in America , 

Lutheran— Synod of Iowa 

Evangelical Association 

Greekprthodox (Hellenic) 

Christian Church (Christian Convention) , . . 

Synod for Norwegian Lutheran Church 

Church of the Brethren (Conservative) 

Russian Orthodox Church 

Friends (Orthodox) 

United Evangelical 

Unitarians 

Primitive Baptists 

Seventh-Day Adventists 

Cumberland Presbyterian 

Latter Day Saints, Reorganized Church of 

Jesus Christ 

Universalists 

Lutheran — United Synod, South 

Free Will Baptists 



Total 
Number 
Organiza- 
tions 



17,487 

29,342 

21,113 

23,627 

19.220 

9.660 

8,159 

8,408 

7,392 

5,867 

3,621 

6.636 

2,389 

9.660 

3.487 

1,761 

1,336 

5.570 

2,716 

2,621 

2,473 

1,391 

827 

991 

715 

977 

1,636 

87 

1,265 

987 

999 

169 

809 

957 

414 

2,143 

2,011 

1.317 

565 
650 
492 
750 



Number 

of 
Edifices 



15,120 

28,406 

20.146 

19.770 

17,251 

9,068 

8.105 

6,815 

6.726 

5,744 

3,301 

6.302 

2,330 

9.068 

3.244 

1.719 

1,267 

4.342 

2,495 

2,490 

2,266 

1,210 

807 

986 

757 

879 

1.582 

59 

1,171 

800 

1,340 

164 

733 

905 

399 

1.697 

1,231 

1,163 

382 
620 
488 
656 



Value 
Reported 



$374,206,895 
215.104,014 
41,184,920 
58.348.373 
62.428,433 
150.239.123 
94.644.133 
40.327,201 
164.990,150 
80.842.813 
25.973.538 
14,631.792 
32,108.091 
150,239,123 
113.787,579 
20.116,336 
13,118.273 
5,644.096 
7.591.393 
5.619,862 
7.944,467 
5,990,280 
5.718.462 
13,543,213 
18.928.383 
4.057.635 
8.317.978 
1,115,464 
3,569.471 
4,383,151 
3,990,898 
2,137,713 
4,262,893 
4.657,893 
15.247.349 
1,601.807 
2.568,495 
1,935,027 

871.571 
7.876,103 
2,572.245 

517,240 



STATISTICAL ADDENDA 219 

BAROMETRIC STATISTICS 

The nation's moral condition at any time is a most 
important factor to consider when endeavoring to look 
forward into the future. From time immemorial, periods 
of prosperity have been accompanied by a dechne in relig- 
ious interests and by a laxness in moral and social cus- 
toms. Conditions, religiously, socially, and morally, are 
always at their worst imniediately preceding a severe 
crisis or panic. The perils to a nation during a period of 
prosperity are much greater than the perils accompany- 
ing a period of depression. For this reason the social 
and commercial corruption which has followed the dec- 
laration of peace after great wars has always been more 
disastrous to the conquering country than the actual war. ;^ 

This has been true during all history. ''• 

It is a debatable question what figures to collect in 
order to judge these moral conditions. Some advise the 
use of Corporation Statistics as showing confidence, 
while others advise the use of Court Records as showing 
criminal conditions. In fact, there are many suggestions, 
but none are satisfactory. Temporarily — pending some- 
thing better — we herewith submit an estimate of the 
annual growth of the Protestant churches of America. 
We should like also to include the Catholic churches, but 
their present figures are based rather upon birth rate than 
confession, and SO are now omitted, 



220 



RELIGION AND BUSINESS 



ESTIMATED ANNUAL CHURCH ADDITIONS 



Year 


Approsimatp 


Annual Growth 


Year 


Approximate Annual Growth 


to July 


Protestant Churches 


to July 


Protestant Churches 


I860. . . . 


224,580 


Decline 


1890 


827.760 


Prosperity 


1861.... 


165.600 


Depression 


1891.... 


918,420 


Decline 


1862.... 


185.880 


Depression 


1892.... 


947,460 


Decline 


1863 


232.950 


Prosperity 


1893 


1,033,320 


Depression 


1864 


270.960 


Decline 


1894 


1,168,590 


Depression 


1865.... 


330.900 


Depression 


1895.... 


1.059.810 


Depression 


1866 


337.470 


Improvement 


1896.... 


964,410 


Improvement 


1867.... 


573.810 


Improvement 


1897.... 


932,700 


Improvement 


1868 


492,960 


Prosperity 


1898 


755,670 


Prosperity 


1869 


455,010 


Prosperity 


1899.... 


735.420 


Prosperity 


1870 


405,030 


Decline 


1900.... 


813,030 


Prosperity 


1871 


398.130 


Decline 


1901.... 


851,940 


Prosperity 


1872.... 


418.350 


Decline 


1902 


875,850 


Prosperity 


1873 


396.480 


Decline 


1903.... 


882,090 


Decline and 


1874.... 


458,370 


Depression 






Depression 


1875 


519,180 


Depression 


1904.... 


905,790 


Improvement 


1876.... 


625,320 


Depression 


1905 .... 


1.046.430 


Prosperity 








1906 


986,700 


Prosperity 


1877.... 


724.329 


Depression 


1907 


1,039.260 


Decline 


1878 


614.940 


Improvement 


1908.... 


1,053,000 


Depression 


1879 


400,670 


Improvement 


1908 


323,391 


Depression 


1880 


366,900 


Prosperity 


1909.... 


918,534 


Improvement 


1881 


339,330 


Prosperity 


1910 


541.475 


Prosperity 


1882 


406,170 


Decline 


1911.... 


850.389 


Depression 


1883.... 


444.000 


Depression 


1912.... 


528.777 


Transition 


1884.... 


537,690 


Depression 


1913.... 


1,235,513 


Decline 


1885 


651,870 


Depression 


1914 


728,007 


Depression 


1886 


814,980 


Improvement 


1915.... 


542,962 


Improvement 


1887.... 


1,234.680 


Improvement 


1916.... 


756.867 


Prosperity 


1888 


779.820 


Prosperity 


1917 


1,339,557 


Prosperity 


1889.... 


878,580 


Prosperity 


1918.... 


154,320 


Prosperity 








1919 


56,301 


Prosperity 



♦Figures from 1860 to 1908 are estimates tor the increase in membership of all 
churches, but are baaed mainly on the records of the Congregational churches, as these 
are the only figures available in earlier years. From 1908 to date, the figures are close 
estimates prepared by Dr. H. K. Carroll, and which were published in the Christian 
Herald. 



RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD 



The figures given up to this point relate to conditions 
in the United States. It is difficult to secure detailed 
figures for other countries. This means that the figures 
are those treating only of the Christian religions. The 
following table is an estimate of all religions and all 
countries. These estimates are based upon figures from 
Whitaker^s Almanack. 



STATISTICAL ADDENDA 



221 





Europe 


Asia 


Africa 


North and 
Central 
America 


Roman Catholics 


195.000,000 
99.000,000 
96,000.000 


10,000,000 
17,000,000 
10.000,000 


3.000,000 

4.000,000 

12.000.000 


37,000,000 


Eastern Catholics 


1.000,000 


Protestants 


43.000,000 






Total Christians 


390,000,000 


37,000,000 


19,000,000 


81,000,000 






Jews 


10.892.000 

4,000.000 

1,000 

2,000 

15,000 

1.000 

2.000 

2,000,000 


357,000 

145,000.000 

140,000.000 

215.000,000 

310.000.000 

25.000,000 

43,000.000 

10.000,000 


360.000 

52,000,000 

1.5000 

325,000 

40.000 

2.000 

99,000.000 

200.000 


3.530,000 


Mohammedans 


25,000 


Buddhists 


1,000 


Hindus 


50.000 


Confuci and Taoists 


120.000 


Shintoists 


1.000 


Animists 


20,000 


Miscellaneous 


9.000.000 






Total Non-Christian 


16,913,000 


888,357,000 


151.962.000 


12.474,000 


- 


,406.913,000 


925,357,000 


170.962,000 


93,747.000 





South America 


Australasia 


Total 


Roman Catholics 


35,000.000 


8,000,000 


288.000.000 


Eastern Catholics 


121.000.000 


Protestants 


1,000.000 

36,000,000 

114,000 

15,000 

5,000 

100,000 

15.000 

5.000 

1,2.50.000 

25.000 

1,529,000 

37,529,000 


5,000,000 

13,000.000 

19.000 

26,000.000 

25,000 

35.000 

725,000 

6.000 

18,000,000 

150,000 

44,960.000 

57,960,000 


167,000,000 


Total Christians 


576,000,000 


Jews 


14.972,000 


Mohammedans 


227.040,000 


Buddhists 


140.047,000 


Hindus 


215,512,000 


Confuci and Taoists 

Shintoists 


310.925.000 
25,015,000 


Animists ••..•.. 


161.272,000 


M scellaneous 


21.375.000 


Total Non«Christian 


1,116.158.000 




1,692,158,000 



WORLD TOTALS, 
PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONAL MEMBERSHIP 

Church of England. — England and Wales, 2,400,000; Ireland, 575,000; Scotland, 

56,000; rest of world, 3,000.000. 
Methodists. — United States and Canada, 7,600,000; British Isles, 1,933,000; elsewhere, 

3,000.000, 
Presbyterians. — U. S. and Canada, 7,600,000; Br'tish Isles, 1,933,000; elsewhere, 3,000, 

000. 
Baptists. — ^United States and Canada, 7,600,000; British Isles, 408,000; elsewhere, 

1,000.000. 
Congregationalists. — ^United States and Canada, 900,000; British Isles, 490,000; 

elsewhere, 700.000. 
Lutherans. — United States and Canada, 2,500,000; Germany, 42,000,000; Scan* 

danavia, 11,000,000; elsewhere, 8,000,000. 



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